High court conservatives question Joe Biden student loan debt relief

The Supreme Court’s six-member conservative majority appeared skeptical Tuesday that President Biden can unilaterally wipe away billions of dollars in federal student loan debt — in a closely-watched case testing the limits of the executive branch’s authority.

The conservative jurists — led by Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Samuel Alito — expressed sympathy for arguments by six Republican-led states and two student loan borrowers that the White House overstepped its legal bounds by announcing the plan last August without congressional approval.

“We take very seriously the idea of separation of powers and that power should be divided to prevent its abuse,” Roberts told Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, arguing for the Biden administration.