The Biden administration’s plan to cancel up to $20,000 of debt for tens of millions of Americans has faced endless pressure. But the suit against it, brought by six Republican-led states, has received much less scrutiny. That’s because the Supreme Court issued certiorari before judgment, meaning the suit did not first have to wend its way through lower courts. We found that the states’ most fundamental justification for bringing the case — that canceling student loans could leave a Missouri-based loan authority unable to meet its financial obligations to the state — is false. That assertion has been enough to get them to the nation’s highest court, and may help persuade the justices to rule in their favor.

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