Joe Biden's Student Loan Forgiveness Defeat Could Cost Him Re-Election

A Supreme Court ruling overturning Joe Biden's student loan forgiveness program could "depress some support" for the Democrats in 2024, hitting the president's re-election chances, according to a leading political scientist.

Biden's proposal, which is being challenged by six Republican-dominated states, would entitle some student borrowers to up to $10,000 in debt relief, with $20,000 available to Pell Grant recipients who come from low-income households.

The president announced he is seeking a second White House term in April, with young college-educated voters forming a key part of the Democratic coalition. A surge in the youth vote in the 2022 midterm elections was widely linked to the Democrats outperforming expectations, with an anticipated Republican "Red Wave" failing to materialize.

The Supreme Court's ruling on student loans is expected imminently, with another round of judgments due to be released on Thursday, though it is not certain which of the seven outstanding cases from this term will be addressed.

"Biden's student debt relief plan was always a massive pander to young and millennial voters," Thomas Gift, who heads the Centre on U.S. Politics at University College London, told Newsweek.

"So if SCOTUS (the Supreme Court) puts the legislation on the chopping block, it's hard not to think some of the would-be beneficiaries will feel as if they were sold a bill of goods. That's bound to depress some support for Biden that turned up to vote Democrat in the 2022 midterms," he said.

Learn more: Student Loan Forgiveness Updates and FAQs: Who Qualifies and How To Apply

In March, Biden admitted he had concerns about the Supreme Court's judgment, commenting: "I'm confident we're on the right side of the law. I'm not confident about the outcome of the decision yet."

Republican critics have claimed the loan forgiveness plan, estimated to cost $400 billion, is unfair to non-college-educated Americans and should have gone through Congress.

"This administration is bypassing Congress, which is elected by the American people to protect their interests," House Republican Virginia Foxx, of North Carolina said in February. "Congress is the only body with the authority to enact sweeping and fundamental changes of this nature, and it is ludicrous for President Biden to assume he can simply bypass the will of the American people."

Newsweek reached out to the White House via email for comment.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court ruled against the "independent state legislature theory" by three votes to six. The proposal would have dramatically increased the control legislatures have over federal elections, which critics warned could undermine American democracy.

Conservative former U.S. Appeals Court Judge J. Michael Luttig told CNN that the theory was "the centerpiece of that effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election" by Donald Trump and his supporters.