An appellate court continues to block the Biden administration's student debt relief program. 

The Hill reports that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eight Circuit has extended a pause that it had previously placed on the Biden administration's Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan.

This comes at a particularly bad time for the White House - especially for Vice President Kamala Harris's presidential campaign.

This is because it has been trying to use student debt relief programs to appeal to youth voters, a key demographic for Democrats.

What's going on?

The Biden administration has been trying to implement several student loan debt relief programs, but, each time, the programs have run into legal difficulties. The same is true with the SAVE plan.

The Daily Caller reports:

The Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan, which was introduced in 2023, seeks to provide new repayment methods for student loan borrowers, including lowering monthly payments based on income and minimizing interest payments.

The big question is whether the White House - unilaterally - has the power to implement such a plan. Several Republican attorneys general do not believe so, which is why they are challenging the plan in the courts.

In July, the case made it to the Eight Circuit Court of Appeals. There, the judges granted a preliminary injunction, stopping the Biden administration from implementing the SAVE plan while litigation regarding its illegality continues.

The litigation has continued, and the latest update in the case came last week.

The latest

What the Eight Circuit did on Friday was extend the pause that it had already placed on the Biden administration's ability to move forward with the SAVE plan.

The Hill reports:

The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling extends the brief pause it ordered last month. The court’s updated decision prevents the administration from moving ahead with its Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan until the court resolves the lawsuit, which could take months.

The outlet goes on to report that the decision to extend the stay was made by a panel of three judges, all of whom voted in favor of the extension.

The judges, in their decision, referred to the plan as a "vast assertion of newfound power." In the process, the court suggested that, with this plan, the Biden administration has exceeded its constitutional authority.

Just to be clear, the case has still not been decided on the merits. But, it is looking more and more likely that the court is going to hand the Biden administration a loss on this one, which, as stated earlier, is going to hurt the Democrats by taking away one of their key policies to attract young voters.