(Reuters)—The United States government has stopped taking applications for student debt relief, after a federal judge blocked President Joe Biden's loan forgiveness plan, according to a notice on a government website.
A judge in Texas who was appointed by former President Donald Trump ruled on Thursday that Biden's plan to cancel hundreds of billions of dollars in student loan debt was unlawful and must be vacated. The Biden administration is appealing the ruling.
"Courts have issued orders blocking our student debt relief program. As a result, at this time, we are not accepting applications. We are seeking to overturn those orders. If you've already applied, we'll hold your application," the notice says.
(Reporting by Juby Babu in Bengaluru and Nate Raymond in Boston. Editing by Heather Timmons and Chizu Nomiyama)