WASHINGTON DC (WSAU) – The U.S. Supreme Court issued two major rulings on Friday morning that is sure to make waves across the nation.
The Biden administration’s plan to forgive $400 billion in student debt for around 40 million Americans earning less than $125,000 or couples earning less than $250,000 was struck down by the Supreme Court in a 6-3 decision, according to The Daily Wire.
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the majority, saying, “The Secretary asserts that the HEROES Act grants him the authority to cancel $430 billion of student loan principal. It does not. We hold today that the Act allows the Secretary to ‘waive or modify’ existing statutory or regulatory provisions applicable to financial assistance programs under the Education Act, not to rewrite that statute from the ground up.”
According to The Hill, the Department of Education’s online application offered qualified applicants up to $10,000 in loan forgiveness and up to $20,000 for those with a Pell Grant. Before the Supreme Court struck down the plan and the debt could be written off, some 26 million Americans completed the form and 16 million were accepted.
The Supreme Court also ruled on Thursday in favor of a Christian graphic designer, stating that a Colorado law cannot force her to develop websites for same-sex couples in violation of her religious beliefs, according to The Daily Caller.
The Court sided with Lorie Smith 6-3 in her case challenging the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act (CADA), a law that prevents public accommodations from denying services based on sexual orientation.
Chief Justice John Roberts, Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett joined Justice Neil Gorsuch in the majority opinion, which stated that “tolerance, not coercion, is our Nation’s answer.”
“The First Amendment envisions the United States as a rich and complex place where all persons are free to think and speak as they wish, not as the government demands,” Gorsuch stated.
In a dissenting opinion, Justice Sonia Sotomayor argued that Smith’s view is “profoundly wrong,” which Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson supported, noting that the Constitution “contains no right to refuse service to a disfavored group.”
This decision follows a previous Supreme Court case back in 2018 that ruled in favor of baker Jack Phillips who refused to bake a cake for a same-sex wedding. The Court sided with Phillips in a 7-2 decision, defeating the Colorado Civil Rights Commission, and stated that the Commission had infringed on Phillip’s right to free speech and freedom to openly practice his faith.
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