After a legal debate about standing in the case of Biden v Nebraska, the Supreme Court took up the issue of whether the President could unilaterally forgive student debt without an act of Congress. In a 6-3 ruling {pdf here}, the court determined the executive authority of the Dept of Education did not permit such action.
Joe Biden campaigned in 2020 on a promise to eliminate student debt unilaterally, without congressional approval. The court opinion released today affirms that Congress must be involved in their role as decision-makers of federal spending. Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion.
[SCOTUS BLOG] – […] When the Biden administration announced the program in August 2022, student-loan repayments had already been on hold for over two years. Betsy DeVos, who served as the secretary of education during the Trump administration, suspended both repayments and the accrual of interest on federal student loans at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. She relied on the HEROES Act, a law passed in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks that gives the secretary of education the power to respond to a national emergency by “waiv[ing] or modify[ing] any statutory or regulatory provision” governing the student-loan programs so that borrowers are not worse off financially because of the emergency.
[…] The HEROES Act, Roberts emphasized, gives the secretary of education the power to “waive or modify” laws and regulations governing the student-loan programs. Congress’s use of the word “modify” means that the Biden administration can make “modest adjustments and additions to existing provisions,” Roberts wrote, “not transform them.” But the debt-relief program, Roberts stressed, instead “created a novel and fundamentally different loan forgiveness program.” The plan “modifies” student-loan laws and regulations, Roberts suggested, “only in the same sense that the French Revolution ‘modified’ the status of the French nobility — it has abolished them and supplanted them with a new regime entirely.”
Roberts rejected the Biden administration’s contention that the secretary of education also has the power to “waive” laws and regulations relating to the student-loan program. When the secretary has invoked this power in the past, Roberts observed, he has done so for a specific legal requirement, such as the requirement that a student provide a written request for a leave of absence. But in this case, Roberts noted, the secretary has not indicated that he is waiving a specific provision.
Roberts also rebuffed the Biden administration’s argument that the debt-relief program is consistent with the purpose of the HEROES Act – that is, to give the secretary of education the power to provide relief to borrowers during a national emergency. “The question here,” Roberts countered, “is not whether something should be done; it is who has the authority to do it.” On this point, Roberts invoked the “major questions” doctrine, which is the idea that if Congress wants to give an administrative agency the power to make decisions of vast economic or political significance, it must say so clearly. But in this case, Roberts said, the HEROES Act did not authorize the debt-relief program at all, much less clearly. (read more)
Additionally, the court also released a decision on a Colorado law that forced a Christian website designer to create wedding websites against her First Amendment right to free speech and freedom of religion. {pdf HERE}
The court ruled the state cannot enforce a state anti-discrimination law against a Christian website designer who does not want to create wedding websites for same-sex couples, because doing so would violate her First Amendment right.
The First Amendment, Gorsuch explained, “protects an individual’s right to speak his mind,” even when others may regard that speech as “deeply misguided” or it may cause “anguish.” And the First Amendment generally also protects an individual from being required by the government to voice a particular message.
In this case, Gorsuch observed, even the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit agreed that the websites that Smith wants to create are speech. But if Smith wants to speak, he stressed, she must choose between following her conscience, which means only creating wedding websites for opposite-sex couples, and violating Colorado law, or following the law and violating her religious beliefs.
Under the Supreme Court’s cases interpreting the First Amendment, Gorsuch concluded, “that is enough, more than enough, to represent an impermissible abridgment of the First Amendment’s right to speak freely.” (read more)
Critics of the decision argue this precedent now permits public businesses to discriminate based on all sorts of issues they will define as their speech rights. However, public businesses are currently permitted to discriminate, as long as that discrimination does not violate constitutional rights (ex. freedom of religious belief) or specifically tailored categories. States cannot pass laws that force or compel people to violate their First Amendment rights.
The conservative-right and the moonbat-left will never give him credit, but Trump’s three SCOTUS appointments are delivering measured positive results.
You can always expect the Liberal Judges to side with UnConstitutional rule of Law… And the ‘Bill of Rights’ never enters their mind…
However, John Roberts said the Judges are not Political… Lol, how he can say that with a straight face is beyond me…
A puckered sphincter helps pulls Roberts’ face tight.
It’s healing.
Every democrat out there hates the constitution…because in intrinsically limits their power…and they will have none of that. Every democrat from banana brain Biden to brainless AOC. If they could revoke the constitution tomorrow they would.
Treavor, treavor, treavor,….PUHLEASE.
Every Uniparty hack, regardless of the letter after their name, wants MORE, Centralised POWER, and hence hates the Constitution and Bill of Rights.
The only difference is those with a (D) after their name are more honest about the agenda they are pursueing, where as those with an (R) LIE about the fact they actually support EXACTLY the same agenda.
Democrats ignore all laws they don’t like and no one stops them. Only hope is the Supreme Court unless it falls completely into Liberal Hands, they this country is totally finished. Democrats do whatever they want until the Courts stop them. Look at Michigans law about
those stupid pronouns. Totally unconstitutional, but they do it anyway until and if they are stopped.
Your succinct statement of the ruling aristocracy should be known to every American. In fact the Rs are more demonic because they are so duplicitous. Not one impeachment, when the grounds have been present for at least a year.
Amen, dutch.
True, it makes their business model work better.
THAT is the issue I keep repeating. The constitution isn’t a guideline. It’s the highest law of the land. Sadly, the violation of the highest law doesn’t come with the highest penalties to discourage even trying. Every high government official and especially every elected official recites the oath of loyalty to the US Constitution. Violation of that oath seems to come with no penalty.
It has long been repeated that the problem of corruption isn’t one of character, but of opportunity. The lack of consequences is most often read as “opportunity.” We see this when local governments publicly refuse to prosecute crimes. Shoplifting, rioting and illegal immigration along with illegal smuggling all represent a response to communicated opportunity.
I have been finding that by pointing out “the gun lobby” is in support of the law while those who oppose them are in support of the destruction of the constitution itself.
The more this reality is called out, the more people can see the anti-constitution people are actually psychopaths.
There is no functional difference between psychopathy and sociopathy. There is no functional difference between communism and socialism. They just “sound” softer because “social” is a language component of the words. Communists love hiding behind words that change the emotional component of the language they use and redefine.
… I’m off on a tangent again but still I don’t regret.
“I have been finding that by pointing out “the gun lobby” is in support of the law while those who oppose them are in support of the destruction of the constitution itself.
The more this reality is called out, the more people can see the anti-constitution people are actually psychopaths.”
That, my friend, is no rant. It’s like gold.
Thank you.
Thank you President Trump!
The “Supreme Court” is as corrupt as all politicians.
If the Constitution and rule of our laws were actually held up this country wouldn’t be upside down.
The makeup of the court itself is a flipping joke and most of them should be locked up.
Decades of precedent and public perception are not to be changed overnight.
The mindless masses are able to accept massive power-grabs during a “crisis” of course. And that’s why these ruling have been delayed until now.
Over the decades, these sorts of rulings would leave people unable to see the reason for them and would even reject them entirely. But we are now in a national crisis sensed by all but denied by all “authorities” and public figures. THIS is why the time is right for this to happen.
It’s the lower courts that don’t hold up the constitution and laws! Get a liberal judge and its over!
All three “against votes” came from AA appointees. Stephen A Smith tweeted that Thomas got on there by AA and then voted against it for everybody else. I contend that Thomas was Not an AA appointee. He barely got conformed. They tried not only to keep him off the court but tried to destroy him.
You have to wonder what all these leftists of color think how they got where they are. Do they think they really earned it??
Stephen A Smith is an abject moron. The barely made it narrative is crap. He was undoubtedly conservative and the Kennedy murderer wing tried to kill his nomination on made up accusations of sexual harassment. That gave cover to a bunch whiny liberals to vote against a black man.
If you listen to stephen A a lot over time, it’s pretty clear he is a closet conservative or at least holds many conservative economic sympathies.
I have NO idea what biden was talking about.
Fast forward to today, and we still dont know what biden is talking about.
Nor does he
That was an excellent clip! FJB was always a BS-er and still is. Except now he is worse. A puppet being managed by his loser handlers.
.
Full of shit then, fuller of shit now.
I have long since lost the video of the then Mr. Thomas, giving Bribem a beat down in the Senate Confirmation hearings.
In favor of meritocracy….one can rise from the trash heap of poverty and achieve great things. (See Ben Carson, too).
And along the way…good teachers are involved, no doubt.
These two men did that, achieved much and are living proof–that’s why the left hates them.
I have seen it too, Aggie girl, in my own city growing up in the 60’s and 70’s.
The beautuful rub here is that the Senator who led the charge to prevent Justice Thomas’ appointment to SCOTUS is now the man who has lost four major SCOTUS decisions this week that bolster the US Constitution and thwart his and the Marxist Dims’ attempts to hurry the destruction of the USA,…. then Senator, and now Installed Poseur, Joe Brib’em!
Sweet, take another bow, Justice Thomas.
(BTW: when Thomas applied for college (Yale?) AA wasn’t de rigueur yet, so Smith and the Dims’ attacks are moot.)
Great point, DaPicayune! Not to mention the “Senator” who led the charge is the one who once said he did not want his kids going to a “jungle” school. This FJB character also described Obama as an articulate well-groomed black man (paraphrased). In later years, he also said “If you don’t vote for me, you ain’t black.”
Bottom line, “FJB.”
Please let me know if Smith ever says something sensible. In fact, the idiotic way he speaks makes it impossible for him to say anything sensible.
We still don’t know what Biden is talking about! What is Natural Law, idiot Biden? Explain it, since you seem to know what that is!
Make believe law maybe, Biden?
And yet it’s not like Bribem didn’t set himself up for failure at the hands of any majority pro-Constitution SCOTUS when he (Creepy Joe) decided to advocate for every unconstitutional policy that the Leftist radicals in the DemonRAT Party can dream up.
wvvet. Leftists have no desire to gain ANYTHING by merit, so they do not care about being AA selections. Does any criminal care that what they gain by subtefuge, embezzlement, trickery….
or FORCE…worry about that whilst counting their loot? Seriously?
You have to wonder what all these leftists of color think how they got where they are. Do they think they really earned it??
Earned it? Not part of their thinking. Entitlement goes hand in hand with group representation. Merit comes into play after entitlement and group representation are addressed, and then only after screening through the ideological filter.
Who is the most qualified candidate becomes who is a straight-line socialist/communist who is also a member of group X, maybe two or more identity groups, who can plausibly be presented? That candidate, who qualifies by group identity and worldview (and who recognizes, deep-down, that more objectively qualified candidates exist,) presumes to be entitled to the appointment.
An afterthought: Could Justice Sotomayor, Kagen, or Coney Barrett please explain to Justice Jackson what a woman is? She may need to know in order to vote on an upcoming case.
And given how entitlement and representation of minority groupings work, it may not be too long before Dylan Mulvaney is nominated for the Supreme Court.
Somewhere in Colorado, the benighted and persecuted Jack Phillips is very likely celebrating with friends, some champagne, and a cake he has made.
Enjoy the victory, Mr Phillips. Christ was with you.
Retired Magistrate here: It has been a great two days with the last three Supreme Court decisions and yes, I give credit to President Trump for his appointments.
I know there have been some decisions that I have not been happy about; but the overturning of Roe v. Wade and these last three decisions are a big step in the right direction in starting to get our country back on the right track.
No, it is not going to happen overnight. It took about 90 years to get us where we are, but this is a start in turning our country around.
So I am not going to gloom and doom about it should have been 9-0; nope not going to happen with the three progressive, emotionally driven judges on the bench. I am just going to be thankful for the rulings in Roe v. Wade and the decisions in the last two days.
Bonus schadenfreude…
Justice Thomas’s evisceration of the dissent which affirmative action hire Brown Jackson issued in yesterday’s Affirmative Action decision, and Justice Gorsuch’s doing the same with Sotomayor’s dissent in today’s Christian website decision.
Both put a smile on my face I can tell you!
OUCH!!
Gorsuch just smoked her, directly and unequivocally.
Glorious I thought.
“Men are from Mars and women are from Venus”.
That might hurt someone’s feelings, Aggiegirl
Now in Michigan I think you can go to jail for posting that 😎
The Ministry of Love awaits all wrong thinkers.
They should etch that in stone above every courthouse door in Michigan. Kind of catchy.
I saw that, with a 10k fine!
That was a book title many years ago….
I remember. That’s how old I am.
Update:
I’m hearing now that Gorsuch reamed Sotomayor also.
Yes he did, BK. Good style. He didn’t hold back.
Which is good but it wasn’t a fair fight. “The Wise Latina”, indeed. 😆
And yes, Marcia…we do have a choice.
It’ll be played like any other give away to a particular group of voters. That was the whole idea, the government was going to forgive debts of a particular group of people and shift/spread the repayment to the everyone. Therefore there is never accountability. No one can identify the specific amount they pay because it just gets added to the national debt, who knows what that costs everyone, now or in the future. Pathetic.
Should go a long way when schools for teachers and students to address others by made up fictional pronouns. students
The First Amendment, Gorsuch explained, “protects an individual’s right to speak his mind,” even when others may regard that speech as “deeply misguided” or it may cause “anguish.” And the First Amendment generally also protects an individual from being required by the government to voice a particular message.
Those on the twisted spectrum that seek services they know are unwelcome aren’t experiencing anguish when they are denied, they relish in it, they rejoice, for they have identified a target to destroy in order to elevate their sick agenda and undermine all freedom of thought and conscience.
Yes, it covers a multitude of sins all right.
TY, Justice Gorsuch, this ruling should kill MI’s new Fascist State law that punishes improper pronoun use.
I agree, but it will sadly only happen after a long and costly lawfare battle requiring them to be dragged kicking and screaming and cheating through the process to achieve justice.
In other words, it will require victims in order to be struck down.
Such evil.
It DOES read like a beatdown of the whole woke narrative that speach is violence,…pretty clear and convincing affirmation of “sticks and stones”, and so like marcia I’ll take the wins, and enjoy the schedenfrude, and not fret over the final score!
The constitution should always win.
The senate should now use it to get rid of the three communists on the bench. After reading their uncited rants, its clear that they were forming their arguments from the BLM and alinsky manifestos.
IMPEACH!
That would be premature. We can’t open those seats for the dems to fill.
Once the Presidency is restored it can be done.
We’ve basically witnessed that Sotomayor and Jackson are check the block idiots and Kagan is a subject class monolith voter. It’s pathetic that anyone supporting them has anything to say about Clarence Thomas.
Thank you.
You might enjoy this. I did.
“Ginni Thomas Interviews Her Husband, Justice Thomas”
There is one sweet moment in it which shows their devotion for one another.
Two people made for each other. God bless them both.
https://dailycaller.com/2022/03/19/ginni-clarence-thomas-supreme-court/
I’m a fan of both.
As am I, Hoo Vol, a huge admirer. I remember watching her as he was being smeared during his confirmation hearing by the reprehensibles…Biden and Kennedy. She looked to me as if she would have loved to get hold of them and do them a severe mischief. I know I did.
And his ready laugh. They are comfortable in one another’s company, that was plain to see. Best friends as well as husband and wife. Lovely.
The fact that Kennedy maintained credibility with a voter block should have permanently ended their right to vote.
Many thanks Betsy for linking that particular Thomas interview. Loved it. Always an inspiration!
One of my favorites: “I keep a sign on my desk- don’t make fun of your wife’s choices, you are one of them.”
Thomas is a blessing.
You are most welcome, swimeasy. I loved watching them together. Two very special people.
He is a blessing. May Almighty God grant him long life and good health. We need him desperately.
On the one hand they have curtailed his ability to bribe voters, on the other hand they allow him to count votes that are illegal.
Excellent observation. I’m more interested in what they’re not focusing on. Suspicious cat remains suspicious.
Lawfare will find another angle on the student loan distraction, plus who enforces that? Executive branch, right? Heh, heh…
Exactly, a law is not a law unless enforced.
Nasty Nan publicly informed Biden that he lacked the authority to excuse the student loans when he first made his promise for votes 15 months ago, so FJ Brib’em committed open Election Fraud to buy the sucker’s votes that probably cost the GOP control of the Senate as the Red Wave never showed up cuz students/grads voted for their wallets, not the good of the nation. But then, Joe’s forte in politics is Bribing, no?
This crime reminds me of Harry Greed’s “He didn’t win, did he?” after being accused of lying on the Senate floor about Moot Mitt Romney not paying his taxes. What pernicious frauds?
Re: the Colorado case decision revealed today,… Justice Gorsuch’s rebuttal of the Unwise LatiNO’s Descent on this SCOTUS decision is a real Beauty to Behold Smackdown,… he accuses her of making up facts and “getting lost in your own web of lies!” He emptied his mag on this unqualified Idenity Politics appointment,… Thanks, Senate GOP voters.
Read it here: https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/06/gorsuch-accuses-sonia-sotomayor-getting-lost-her-own/
What a great and glorious week America First has now had just before the Independence Day celebrations,… thank You President Trump for your SCOTUS picks, they sure are paying America Big Dividends now,… and leaving the Marxist Dims pulling out their hair and Screaming at the Sky, again!
I will argue that JoeMentia* and company aren’t a bit aggrieved by the ruling on student loans. JoeMentia*, in fact, told reporters at the time he did this, that he probably didn’t have the power to buy that he was going to do it anyway. Behind that reasoning, his puppet masters then knew they could have an emotional issue whereby they can rally the millennial troops to show up in ’24, in order to get a president and congress ready to “pack the courts.” The rest of their rhetoric is intended to do just that.
Love JoeMentia. Might be the best I’ve seen.
Oh, there will be much wailing and gnashing of teeth. Somebody should have taught the borrowers what a legal contract means and explained what exactly a loan entails.
This should go a long way towards these same people thinking a home loan they got is also forgivable.
You know that was coming next, maybe not immediately, but over the horizon in the future.
I’m shocked that SCOTUS found standing on any issue that goes against the socialists. They’ve been a real disappointment to me at times for that very reason.
This is the second case where the SCOTUS has a chance to use freedom of religion to stop the alphabet agenda. They passed both times, and settled on a freedom of speech argument.
The final stop on this path is the slaughter of Christians….
Gorsuch was Trump’s best pick for SCOTUS.
Very pleased with him.
He’s the most conservative of them, but just isn’t where Thomas and Alito are. None are in Scalia’s league. He toyed with the liberal wing.
I believe we’ve just seen that fine tradition revived by Justices Thomas and Alito.
I believe they’ve just turned up the heat, and deservedly so.
I sure hope I’m right.
I would appreciate it so very much.
Watch the other hand
Until the Supreme Court puts on its big boy and girl pants and does something about corrupt elections, instead of enshrining them, I will continue to believe their “positive” social decisions are intended to stir sh*t and get the left engaged and activated to perpetuate the division. They did it with roe v wade right after the fraudulent installation of Branden.
Katanji Brown is the first Supreme Court inJustice installed as a direct consequence of institutionalized election fraud
Exactly! Thank you!
Got nothing
Wise advice.
Thank you, Heavenly Father. Thank you, Lord Jesus Christ. Thy will be done.
Since when can a president negate a loan. I could have used him several houses ago.
These are all an amazing series of rulings.
Chief Justice Roberts and family may be friends of Epstein and associates.
Chief method of control, if so.
All speculation, on my part, of course.
Brandon is having an awful no good day at the Supreme Court.
We need the attorneys to figure out whether wording in higher education act allows Biden to go around the SCOTUS decision against student loan forgiveness under HEROES act.
I am reading that The decision was that “waive or modify” authorization wording was not strong enough to justify such an enormous loan foregiveness under HEROES act. But the wording in the higher education act may be similar and Biden may tangle with SCOTUS again if he tries to do it under higher education act. It is a “major questions doctrine” thing
I think Liz Warren said Biden can do it under higher education act. Hope she is wrong
Remember back in the day when you’d see signs in stores that said, “We Reserve the Right to Refuse Service to Anyone?”
The good old days…
Now being in business means you have to allow ‘privileged classes’ to steal your inventory and harm your patrons, and you must hire them to do the same. (and you cannot fire them unless you want to be sued into oblivion!)
“Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness” indeed…
The TIDE is turning!
JUSTICE has to rectified first.
I’ve always thought that the Supreme Court looks like a coven of witches and warlocks.
If the SC didn’t rule this way (against Biden), tuition rates, across the board, would have increased this fall.
This ruling would have exacerbated the problem, but rates are rising astronomically anyway.
Biden is trying to play for the youth vote.
But I think the national conversation should be about asking students and or taxpayers to subsidize bloated university bureaucracies and extravagant university estate developments.
I think This could be fixed by asking schools to guarantee the oversized loans. As it is, Banks don’t care what happens bc they enjoy federal government guarantees if student defaults.
Start with Harvard which has a $40 billion endowment.
Except for that election law thing this week… giving state supreme courts control over ejection laws rather than state legislatures… cavenaugh is bought & paid for by DC machine
Is this the first time sitting Justices have made personal attacks on the opinions of other sitting Justices?
Today Thomas and Gorsuch both roasted their colleagues in their opinions.
This looks like a civil war brewing inside the third Independent branch of government. We already have the Executive branch at war with the American people, and the Legislative branch at war with each other (house vs senate, republicans vs democrats).
Nation divided. We do indeed live in interesting times.
The left wing of the court committed an act of unprecedented harm and declared the war with the Dobbs leak.
What we’re seeing here is just the beginning of the response, I think.
I think you’re right.
After some of the language in his opinions wrt this week’s decisions,
I think I have a little crush on Justice Gorsuch. lol
Surprisingly our left of center Trump judges sided with the decision on affirmative action and loan forgiveness. However, does anyone believe the lawless communist leftist will abide the decisions? Lol…. Fat chance. Will never happen. Comment not derogatory slur on Trump. Love DJT. Just more evidence his MAGA advisors were purged early in the first few months of his presidency.
Apologies if already posted.
From Not the Bee:
https://notthebee.com/article/even-the-biggest-trump-haters-on-the-right-have-to-give-him-credit-for-this
~ I appreciate him giving the President his props, and I recommend the click to see the rest of the piece and the fine (imo) photo and graphics they chose. It’s written by Daniel Plainview
Excerpt:
“I understand that many on the right despise Trump. I am not judging you for that. I am not making a call either way on Trump in this short article. I am just saying, if you’re a conservative, even if you hate Trump, you have to be intellectually honest enough to give him credit for this Supreme Court.
Can you imagine if he hadn’t made that elevator ride, and Hillary Clinton had won the presidency instead of him?
Do you know what today’s Supreme Court – and country – would look like?
Give credit where credit is due.”
Look at their hands. What are they symbolizing, intentional or not?
The composition of the Supreme Court of this nation is a disgrace to the intended meaning of the constitution by our founding fathers. It is not a vaguely written instrument. Most of the cases before them should have no dessenting votes such as cases like this one, yet radical judges follow an ideology instead of the law they swore to uphold.
I hope the Conservatives on the Supreme court have a lot of Security and do not take any vacations alone so they do not end up with a pillow over their face. The Dems are going to get desperate.
Why are three liberals voting against this basic Constitutional tenet?? Why aren’t these justices not being brought before Congress on possible impeachment charges for their vote on this tenet of the Constitution?? Those are the questions this article should be raising!! If Congress is not protecting the Constitution from rogue judiciary, WHO WILL??
It seems important decisions like this are always a 6 to 3 vote. Thank God for Trump’s court picks and the conservative nature of important court decisions. Their is at least some modicum of sanity in this bizarre, decadent world…
Clowns !!!