A federal judge on Wednesday ordered the Harris-Biden administration’s recent student debt relief measures to resume, dealing a temporary blow to Republican-led states suing over the “unlawful” move.

Augusta, Georgia. U.S. District Judge Randal Hall ruled that the lawsuit had no standing in the Peach State, one of seven states involved in the suit, because it would not harm Georgia’s tax revenues as officials had claimed.

Hall, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, lifted an injunction he had issued on Sept. 5 on the debt relief plan, dismissed Georgia from the suit and transferred the case to Missouri, another co-plaintiff.

The Republican attorney general who originally filed the lawsuit asked St. Louis U.S. District Judge Matthew Schelp, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, to consider blocking the repayment plan from taking effect by Friday.

In an earlier ruling, Hall found that Missouri could lose millions of dollars in revenue from the Higher Education Loan Authority, a private entity that nonetheless performs a public function by providing students with access to federal loans.

Attorneys general in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, North Dakota and Ohio jointly filed the lawsuit on September 3, alleging that President Biden and Education Secretary Miguel Cardona’s plan “unlawfully” raised $73 billion “overnight.” would eliminate and increase $146.9 billion to 27.6 million student borrowers.

They argued that the government had already tried to implement previous plans – only to be blocked by the courts – and was now “trying to do so with stealth and daggers”.

In September, the lawsuit says Cardona “quietly ordered loan servicing companies to begin mass loan cancellations,” which “violates a law that prohibits the Secretary from adopting rules like these earlier than 60 days after publication.” to implement.”

Cardona issued a notice in April about the proposed federal rule that would automatically enroll students “with at least one outstanding federal student loan” unless they opted out.

Under the plan, student loan borrowers with debts of up to $20,000 or those who have been paying them off for more than 20 years would have their balances wiped out — even those with household incomes over $240,000.

Some borrowers involved in income-driven repayment forgiveness plans, such as the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan, would also be included.

That program would have cost up to $475 billion but has already been blocked by federal courts.

The Supreme Court upheld the rulings after rejecting Biden’s push to use a 2003 law that unilaterally released up to $430 billion in debt to 43 million student borrowers from war veterans in Iraq and Afghanistan last year should be enacted.

This was the administration’s third attempt to write off billions of dollars in student loans before the 2024 election, fulfilling a campaign promise that the 81-year-old Biden made to voters four years ago.

Since then, the Education Department boasts, it has already paid off $169 billion in debt for 4.8 million student borrowers – a record that Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris touted in swing states ahead of Election Day.

Republicans have accused Biden and Harris, after she replaced him on the ballot, of trying to “buy votes” among young and educated members of the Democratic constituency.

“While we appreciate the district court’s admission that this case has no legal basis in Georgia, the fact remains that this lawsuit reflects the ongoing efforts of Republican elected officials to prevent millions of their own voters from voting in their country to breathe.” Student loans,” a spokesperson for the Department of Education said in a statement.

The Missouri Attorney General’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.