Senate votes to overturn Biden’s student loan relief program

The Senate voted largely along party lines Thursday on legislation to block President Joe Biden’s student debt relief program after the measure cleared a key procedural hurdle in the chamber.

The 52-46 vote to pass the legislation comes a day after senators took a similarly close vote to proceed to the measure, which would repeal Biden’s debt relief program and end the administration’s pause on federal student loan payments. A few moderate senators — Democrats Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Jon Tester of Montana and independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona — voted with Republicans on the final passage vote as well as the motion to take up the measure.

Just a simple majority of senators were needed to pass the legislation and send it to Biden's desk. But the White House warned in a Statement of Administration Policy last month that Biden would veto the resolution.