Today in the HEROES Act cases

The Supreme Court hears oral argument at 10:00 a.m. (Eastern) this morning in two consolidated student loan giveaway/HEROES Act cases. The Associated Press purports to report on the issues in this story this morning. The live stream of the hearing is accessible here.

The cases come before the Court on review of the Eighth Circuit’s preliminary injunction putting a hold on the loan giveaway program. The Eight Circuit opinion is posted online here. Supreme Court filings on the application to vacate the Eighth Circuit injunction are accessible here. The Eighth Circuit ruling is consolidated for hearing with the Northern District of Texas case holding the loan giveaway program illegal and enjoining it. The Fifth Circuit declined to stay the injunction entered by the Northern District of Texas. Supreme Court filings in this case are accessible here.

As I have noted from the day President Biden exercised royal authority to confer the giveaway, the issue of standing is key to the outcome. Politico Playbook quotes the requisite (anonymous) “person familiar with the administration’s thinking” on the cases: “We’re confident we’re going to win because the other side doesn’t have standing.” The Playbook gurus conjure this unintentionally hilarious nightmare: “The alternative, in any case, is chilling: Granting these litigants standing could open the door to a flood of future challenges to federal initiatives.” By contrast, City Journal has just posted Ilya Shapiro’s “Loan forgiveness on the ropes.” Shapiro does not take up the question of standing.

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