SoFi vs. Dept. of Education: Loan Moratorium Challenge
SoFi vs. Dept. of Education: Loan Moratorium Challenge
and
Plaintiffs,
v.
Civil Action No. 23-CV-599
MIGUEL CARDONA,
in his official capacity as Secretary,
United States Department of Education,
400 Maryland Ave. SW
Washington, D.C. 20202,
and
Defendants.
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INTRODUCTION
temporarily suspended interest and payments on federally held student loans. This law, commonly
known as the CARES Act, was designed to alleviate severe distress to borrowers whose ability to
make payments was threatened by the upheaval and dislocation of the pandemic’s early stages.
expired on September 30, 2020. By that time, the federal government had allocated more than
$2.2 trillion in stimulus funding, including $300 billion in cash payments to individuals,
$260 billion in increased unemployment benefits, $350 billion in paycheck protection payments,
and hundreds of billions more in aid for employers. Though Americans were still contending with
the virus—vaccines did not become widely available until the start of 2021—the pandemic had by
the Department of Education declared an administrative moratorium on loan repayment for all
federal borrowers. At first, the Department said it was issuing only a temporary moratorium to
give Congress a chance to extend the pause legislatively. Yet even after Congress declined to do
so, the Department extended the moratorium through another administrative order. And then it did
so again. And then again and again—it issued a total of seven extensions from October 1, 2020,
4. As authority for each of these extensions, the Department of Education invoked the
Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students Act, known as the HEROES Act. Enacted at
the outset of the Iraq War to help avoid loan-payment defaults by troops suddenly called into active
duty, the HEROES Act gives the Secretary of Education limited authority to waive certain
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requirements for federal borrowers when doing so is necessary “in connection with a war or other
the Secretary’s waiver authority applies only when “necessary” to avoid “plac[ing]” individuals
“affected” by an emergency “in a worse position financially in relation to [their federal] financial
assistance because of ” the emergency. 20 U.S.C. § 1098bb(a)(2)(A). Each of the seven times it
extended the loan-repayment moratorium under the HEROES Act, the Department of Education
stated that pausing repayment for all federal student borrowers was necessary to avoid
5. On August 24, 2022, the same day that the Department of Education announced the
seventh extension of the loan moratorium—promised by the Department to be the last—it also
announced a $519 billion program to cancel student debt for certain federal borrowers. In doing
so, the Department invoked the same HEROES Act authority, and it again cited the pandemic as
the justification. But the initiative quickly stalled, as multiple courts issued rulings declaring the
program unlawful and enjoining it. The Supreme Court agreed to hear the cases, and oral argument
Education announced an eighth extension of the loan moratorium on November 22, 2022. Unlike
the other extensions, the Department did not claim that continuing the moratorium was necessary
to address harm caused to borrowers affected by the pandemic. Instead, the Department asserted
that the further extension was intended to alleviate “uncertainty” for borrowers during the
pendency of ongoing litigation regarding the debt-cancellation program. Yet the extension applies
to all federal borrowers, whether or not they qualify for debt cancellation. The Department also
expressly tied the extension’s duration to the pending litigation, requiring payments to resume
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60 days after the Supreme Court’s ruling (or 60 days after June 30, 2023, if no decision has issued
by then).
7. The eighth extension of the loan moratorium is unlawful on multiple grounds. The
HEROES Act provides limited authority to relieve transitory burdens for federal student borrowers
who are temporarily unable to make payments on their loans due to active military service or
national emergencies. But the eighth extension applies to all federal borrowers in the country, not
just those suffering hardship as a result of the current phase of the pandemic. Indeed, the eighth
extension does not even attempt to redress harm from the pandemic at all, but rather to alleviate
“uncertainty” caused by the debt-cancellation litigation—a justification that the Act does not
recognize or allow. And the eighth extension is also structured to address litigation uncertainty,
not to return borrowers to the financial position that they would have occupied absent the current
phase of the pandemic. Even if the text of the HEROES Act could plausibly be stretched that far,
the major questions doctrine requires “clear congressional authorization” before an agency is
allowed to claim such extraordinarily broad power. West Virginia v. EPA, 142 S. Ct. 2587, 2609
8. The eighth extension of the loan moratorium was also adopted in an arbitrary and
capricious manner without following mandatory procedural requirements. Even though the
HEROES Act requires the Department of Education to provide more public notice than regular
agency rulemaking, the Department failed even to satisfy basic notice-and-comment obligations.
Nor did the Department make any attempt to explain why the current extension satisfies the Act’s
“uncertainty” for borrowers during ongoing litigation over the debt-cancellation program—plainly
not a valid basis under the Act. And the Department’s asserted justification fails even on its own
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terms: The moratorium applies to all borrowers, even those who do not qualify for student-debt
cancellation; thus, millions of borrowers who are not subject to any litigation “uncertainty” are
9. For these and other reasons explained below, the eighth extension of the loan
moratorium should be invalidated and set aside. At minimum, the Department of Education should
be ordered to require repayment by borrowers who are not eligible for student-debt cancellation.
10. This Court has jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1331 (action arising under the
laws of the United States), 28 U.S.C. § 1346 (United States as a defendant), and 5 U.S.C. §§ 701–
06 (Administrative Procedure Act). An actual controversy exists between the parties within the
meaning of 28 U.S.C. § 2201(a), and this Court may grant declaratory relief, injunctive relief, and
11. The loan moratorium constitutes a final agency action and is therefore judicially
12. Venue is proper in this Court under 28 U.S.C. § 1391(e) because this action seeks
relief against federal agencies and officials acting in their official capacities; Defendants are
located in this district; and a substantial part of the events or omissions giving rise to the claim
PARTIES
13. Plaintiff SoFi Bank, N.A., an affiliate of SoFi Technologies Inc., offers credit
products to its members, including products for the refinancing of student loans. SoFi Bank, N.A.
commenced operations in February of 2022 and originates loans to refinance student loans.
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14. Plaintiff SoFi Lending Corp., an affiliate of SoFi Technologies Inc., also offers
credit products to its members. SoFi Lending Corp. originated loans to refinance student loans
15. Plaintiffs, referred to here collectively as “SoFi,” have a mission to help people
16. Defendant Miguel Cardona is the United States Secretary of Education and the head
of the United States Department of Education. He is sued in his official capacity only.
LEGAL BACKGROUND
18. The Department of Education was established by Congress in 1979. Pub. L. No.
19. The Department’s decision-making, like that of other Executive Branch agencies,
20. The APA sets forth basic procedural requirements. Among other things, agencies
engaging in substantive policymaking must undertake a series of steps designed to promote public
rulemaking.
three steps:
First, the agency must issue a “general notice of proposed rule making,” ordinarily
by publication in the Federal Register. § 553(b). Second, . . . the agency must “give
interested persons an opportunity to participate in the rule making through
submission of written data, views, or arguments.” § 553(c). An agency must
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consider and respond to significant comments received during the period for public
comment. Third, when the agency promulgates the final rule, it must include in the
rule’s text “a concise general statement of its basis and purpose.” § 553(c).
Perez v. Mortg. Bankers Ass’n, 575 U.S. 92, 96 (2015) (brackets and citations omitted).
fairness and mature consideration of rules of general application.” NLRB v. Wyman-Gordon Co.,
394 U.S. 759, 764 (1969) (plurality opinion); see New Jersey v. HHS, 670 F.2d 1262, 1281 (3d
Cir. 1981) (the requirements exist “to ensure that unelected administrators, who are not directly
accountable to the populace, are forced to justify their quasi-legislative rulemaking before an
rulemaking under the APA are ‘narrowly construed and only reluctantly countenanced.’” Mid
Continent Nail Corp. v. United States, 846 F.3d 1364, 1380 (Fed. Cir. 2017); see id. at n.12
(collecting cases).
23. In addition to prescribing rules that agencies must follow, the APA authorizes
judicial review of any “final agency action for which there is no other adequate remedy in a court.”
5 U.S.C. § 704. A court must “hold unlawful and set aside” agency action that is “arbitrary,
capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law,” id. § 706(2)(A); “in
24. In evaluating agency action under the APA, courts must apply the “major questions
doctrine.” West Virginia, 142 S. Ct. at 2609. Under this doctrine, when an agency asserts authority
over matters of “economic and political significance,” courts require the agency to “point to clear
congressional authorization for the power it [has] claim[ed].” Id. at 2608–09 (emphasis added)
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25. As the Supreme Court recently explained, the major questions doctrine reflects
“both separation of powers principles and a practical understanding of legislative intent,” including
the presumption that “Congress intends to make major policy decisions itself, not leave those
decisions to agencies.” Id. at 2609 (quotation marks omitted). Even when an agency can identify
“a colorable textual basis” for its authority, therefore, courts must be “ ‘reluctant to read into
ambiguous statutory text’ the delegation claimed to be lurking there.” Id. (quoting Utility Air
26. Title IV of the Higher Education Act, 20 U.S.C. § 1070 et seq., establishes several
federal student loan programs administered by the Department of Education. The total outstanding
loan balance across these programs is more than $1.6 trillion. Cong. Research Serv., Federal
https://bit.ly/3hmnO2H.
27. Under the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan program, 20 U.S.C. § 1087a et
seq., “the federal government makes loans” directly to borrowers “using federal capital (i.e., funds
from the U.S. Treasury), and once made, outstanding loans constitute an asset of the federal
government.” CRS Report at 2. As of March 2022, more than 37.1 million borrowers under the
Direct Loan program had a total outstanding loan balance of nearly $1.4 trillion. Id. at 4 tbl.I.
28. Under the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP), 20 U.S.C. §1071 et
seq., the federal government paid lenders to make student loans and guaranteed their repayment.
Although the authority to issue FFELP loans expired in 2010, id. § 1071(d), such loans currently
account for nearly $210 billion of outstanding student debt nationwide. See Federal Student Loan
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29. Under the Perkins Loan Program, 20 U.S.C. § 1087aa et seq., colleges and
universities made loans to financially needy students, and the federal government guaranteed their
repayment. The authority to issue loans under the Perkins program expired in 2017, id.
§ 1087aa(b), but Perkins loans still account for about $4 billion of outstanding student debt. See
30. First enacted following the deployment of troops to Afghanistan, and later
reenacted at the outset of the Iraq War, the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students
(HEROES) Act “provide[s] the Secretary of Education with specific waiver authority to respond
to a war or other military operation or national emergency.” Pub. L. No. 108-76, 117 Stat. 904.
31. The HEROES Act was initially passed by unanimous voice vote in both the House
and Senate in 2001, only weeks after members of our Armed Forces invaded Afghanistan in
Operation Enduring Freedom. 147 Cong. Rec. H7155 (daily ed. Oct. 23, 2001); 147 Cong. Rec.
S13311 (daily ed. Dec. 14, 2001). The Act was reauthorized and amended in 2003, shortly after
service members began deploying in large numbers to fight in Iraq. 149 Cong. Rec. H2553–54
(daily ed. Apr. 1, 2003); 149 Cong. Rec. S10866 (daily ed. July 31, 2003).
32. In passing the HEROES Act, Congress was focused on helping service members
who were temporarily unable to comply with their loan-repayment obligations while deployed
overseas. As one supporter explained, the Act “provides assurance to our men and women in
uniform that they will not face education-related financial or administrative difficulties while they
defend our Nation.” 149 Cong. Rec. 7922 (2003) (Statement of Representative Kline); see also
149 Cong. Rec. 7919–20 (2003) (Statement of Representative Garrett) (“[T]his legislation will
now grant to the Secretary of Education the authority and the power to grant to the students who
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are overseas now the relief that they need.”); 149 Cong. Rec. 7922 (2003) (Statement of
Representative Isakson) (“[T]he HEROES Act of 2003 . . . gives the Secretary the authority . . . to
make those waivers and deferrals that are necessary to ensure that our troops whose lives have
been disrupted suddenly, and now serve us in the Middle East and in Iraq, to make sure that their
families are not harassed by collectors and that their loan payments are deferred until they return;
and also encourage those institutions of higher learning that have accepted tuition for semesters or
quarters that now cannot be fulfilled because that Reservist has been activated to refund the tuition
33. The Act’s “Findings” section reflects Congress’s concern with ensuring temporary
(1) There is no more important cause than that of our nation’s defense.
(2) The United States will protect the freedom and secure the safety of its citizens.
(3) The United States military is the finest in the world and its personnel are determined to
lead the world in pursuit of peace.
(4) Hundreds of thousands of Army, Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, and Coast Guard
reservists and members of the National Guard have been called to active duty or active
service.
(5) The men and women of the United States military put their lives on hold, leave their
families, jobs, and postsecondary education in order to serve their country and do so with
distinction.
(6) There is no more important cause for this Congress than to support the members of the
United States military and provide assistance with their transition into and out of active
duty and active service.
20 U.S.C. § 1098aa(b).
34. The HEROES Act accomplishes these objectives by providing the Secretary of
Education with authority to “waive or modify any statutory or regulatory provision applicable to
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[certain federal] financial assistance programs . . . as the Secretary deems necessary in connection
with a war or other military operation or national emergency,” but only as “authorized by
35. In paragraph (2), the Act limits such waivers or modifications to five specified
objectives. Id. § 1098bb(a)(2). These objectives include relatively modest adjustments to federal
and modifying the calculation of the borrower’s “annual adjusted family income.” Id.
§ 1098bb(a)(B), (C). And, of particular relevance here, the Secretary also may issue a waiver or
modification as is “necessary to ensure that . . . affected individuals are not placed in a worse
position financially in relation to that financial assistance because of their status as affected
36. The Act defines an “affected individual” as someone who “(A) is serving on active
duty during a war or other military operation or national emergency; (B) is performing qualifying
National Guard duty during a war or other military operation or national emergency; (C) resides
or is employed in an area that is declared a disaster area by any Federal, State, or local official in
connection with a national emergency; or (D) suffered direct economic hardship as a direct result
of a war or other military operation or national emergency, as determined by the Secretary.” Id.
§ 1098ee(2).
requirement: The Secretary must “publish the waivers or modifications of statutory and regulatory
provisions the Secretary deems necessary” by notice in the Federal Register. Id. § 1098bb(b)(1).
This reporting requirement applies “[n]otwithstanding section 1232 of this title and section 553 of
title 5.” Id. Both of the cited provisions would otherwise provide certain limited “except[ions]” to
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(“exemption”).
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
38. Over the past two-and-a-half years, the Department of Education has suspended
repayment requirements for federally held student loans. This suspension has been significant,
costing the federal government more than $100 billion dollars and propelling the federal
government toward its debt limit. See Zachary Warmbrodt & Victoria Guida, The Doomsday Clock
on the Debt Limit Is Ticking, Politico (Jan. 19, 2023, 11:22 AM), https://bit.ly/3kz81Pu; U.S. Gov’t
https://bit.ly/3XsnOOD.
collectively referred to here as the “Loan Moratorium”—the Department has long since abandoned
any pretense that the continued suspension of loan repayments is necessitated by or an appropriate
40. On March 20, 2020, at the outset of the pandemic, the Department announced that
it would set the interest rates on federally held student loans to 0% for “a period of at least 60
days” and would allow borrowers with such loans to suspend their payments “for at least two
months.” Delivering on President Trump’s Promise, Secretary DeVos Suspends Federal Student
Loan Payments, Waives Interest During National Emergency, U.S. Dep’t of Educ. (Mar. 20, 2020),
https://bit.ly/3FhTkqM. The Department tied this temporary relief directly to the pandemic. Then-
Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos explained: “Right now, everyone should be focused on
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staying safe and healthy, not worrying about their student loan balance growing.” Id. The
Department of Education did not identify the legal authority under which it was granting this relief.
41. On March 27, 2020, President Trump signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief,
and Economic Security (CARES) Act. See Pub. L. No. 116-136, 134 Stat. 281 (2020). The CARES
Act gave the Secretary of Education statutory authority to “suspend all payments” for federal loans
held by the Department of Education until September 30, 2020, and provided that no interest would
42. Notwithstanding the expiration of the CARES Act authority for the student loan
repayment pause, the Executive Branch has administratively extended the Loan Moratorium—and
43. On August 8, 2020, President Trump directed Secretary DeVos to extend the Loan
Moratorium through December 31, 2020. Memorandum on Continued Student Loan Payment
Relief During the COVID-19 Pandemic, The White House (Aug. 8, 2020), https://bit.ly/3FHwSJ7.
Education had extended the Loan Moratorium through January 31, 2021, to “allow[] Congress to
do its job and determine what measures it believes are necessary and appropriate.” Secretary
DeVos Extends Student Loan Forbearance Period Through January 31, 2021, in Response to
announcing the extension, Secretary DeVos stressed that “Congress, not the Executive Branch, is
45. Upon taking office on January 20, 2021, President Biden directed the Acting
Secretary of Education to extend the Loan Moratorium for an additional, unspecified period.
Pausing Federal Student Loan Payments, The White House (Jan. 20, 2021), https://bit.ly/3Pgg4Mm.
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46. Eight months later, on August 6, 2021, President Biden announced that he was
extending the Loan Moratorium “one final time until January 31, 2022.” Statement by President
Joe Biden Extending the Pause on Student Loan Repayment, The White House (Aug. 6, 2021),
https://bit.ly/3heemOY.
47. Notwithstanding his claim that the August 2021 extension was the “final” one, on
December 22, 2021, President Biden announced that the Loan Moratorium would continue for an
additional 90 days, through May 1, 2022. Statement by President Joe Biden Extending the Pause
on Student Loan Repayment an Additional 90 Days, The White House (Dec. 22, 2021),
the nation’s “jobs recovery [was] one of the strongest ever—with nearly 6 million jobs added [in
2021], the fewest Americans filing for unemployment in more than 50 years, and overall
48. On April 6, 2022, President Biden announced that he was further extending the
Loan Moratorium through August 31, 2022. Statement by President Biden Extending the Pause on
Student Loan Repayment Through August 31st, 2022, The White House (Apr. 6, 2022),
https://bit.ly/3hijfX9. President Biden again underscored the strength of the U.S. economy, noting
that the United States had “seen the fastest economic growth in nearly 40 years.” Id.
49. On August 24, 2022, the Department of Education announced another “final
Administration Announces Final Student Loan Pause Extension Through December 31 and
Targeted Debt Cancellation to Smooth Transition to Repayment, U.S. Dep’t of Educ. (Aug. 24,
2022), https://bit.ly/3Bnweh3.
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50. In issuing these extensions, the Department of Education repeatedly invoked the
Secretary’s “authority” to grant “waivers and modifications” under the HEROES ACT. See, e.g.,
85 Fed. Reg. 79,856 (Dec. 11, 2020); 86 Fed. Reg. 5,008 (Jan. 19, 2021); 87 Fed. Reg. 61,512,
51. The Department of Education did not provide advance notice or an opportunity for
public input before putting these extensions into place. Instead, the Department asserted that the
HEROES Act relieved the agency of its duty under the APA to engage in notice-and-comment
rulemaking—pointing for support to the very statutory provision that requires publication of
52. At the same time that the Biden Administration was using the pandemic to justify
53. In February 2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued
updated guidance under which it no longer recommended universal masking in most of the
country. See, e.g., Transcript for CDC Media Telebriefing: Update on COVID-19, Ctrs. for
Disease Control & Prevention (Feb. 25, 2022), https://bit.ly/3FEoqdp. Two months later, the CDC
terminated a prior order that had “suspend[ed] the right to introduce migrants into the United
States” due to COVID-19 concerns, finding that the order “[wa]s no longer necessary.” CDC
Public Health Determination and Termination of Title 42 Order, Ctrs. for Disease Control &
Prevention (Apr. 1, 2022), https://bit.ly/3UDP0Yw. In August 2022, the CDC determined that
Minimizing the Impact of COVID-19 on Individual Persons, Communities, and Health Care
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Systems, Ctrs. for Disease Control & Prevention (Aug. 19, 2022), https://bit.ly/3VJSmdX. And a
month after that, the CDC announced that universal masking was no longer necessary even in
healthcare settings. Interim Infection Prevention and Control Recommendations for Healthcare
Personnel During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic, Ctrs. for Disease
54. Indeed, as early as April 2022, the Administration had begun suggesting that the
COVID-19 pandemic was in the past. See Statement by President Biden Extending the Pause on
Student Loan Repayment Through August 31st, 2022, The White House (Apr. 6, 2022),
https://bit.ly/3hijfX9 (“[W]e are still recovering from the pandemic and the unprecedented
55. President Biden put the issue most bluntly in a September 18, 2022, interview with
60 Minutes: “The pandemic is over.” 60 Minutes, President Biden: “The Pandemic Is Over”,
56. On the same day that the Biden Administration announced the seventh extension of
the student loan repayment pause—promised by the Administration to be the last—it also
announced a $519 billion program to cancel student debt. FACT SHEET: President Biden
Announces Student Loan Relief for Borrowers Who Need It Most, The White House (Aug. 24,
2022), https://bit.ly/3iUhb8w (Fact Sheet); Penn Wharton, The Biden Student Loan Forgiveness
Plan: Budgetary Costs and Distributional Impact 1 (Aug. 26, 2022), https://bit.ly/3lJifxn.
57. As a candidate, President Biden had campaigned on student debt forgiveness. See,
e.g., Joe’s Agenda for Students, JoeBiden.com (2020), https://bit.ly/3VQk7BE; Joe Biden, Joe
Biden Outlines New Steps to Ease Economic Burden on Working People, Medium (Apr. 9, 2020),
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https://bit.ly/3FpoZXs (proposing “to forgive all undergraduate tuition-related federal student debt
from two- and four-year public colleges and universities for debt-holders earning up to $125,000”).
But in office, the President was unable to secure the passage of debt-forgiveness legislation; the
sole bill introduced in 2021 to accomplish that result failed. See Income-Driven Student Loan
58. On August 24, 2022, the Biden Administration announced that it would do
administratively what it could not accomplish legislatively. Under the Mass Debt Cancellation
Program, the Department of Education intends to cancel up to $20,000 in student debt for
borrowers with loans held by the federal government whose individual income is less than
$125,000 ($250,000 for married couples filing jointly). See Fact Sheet, supra. The Department
will further refund payments to certain borrowers of such loans who made voluntary payments
during the Loan Moratorium. One-Time Federal Student Loan Debt Relief, Fed. Student Aid,
https://bit.ly/3iQ7urt.
59. On the same day that the Department of Education announced the Mass Debt
Cancellation Program, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel released a legal
memorandum opining that the HEROES Act “grants the [Education Secretary] authority to reduce
or eliminate the obligation to repay the principal balance of federal student loan debt, including on
a class-wide basis in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.” Use of the HEROES Act of 2003 to
Cancel the Principal Amounts of Student Loans, 2022 WL 3975075 (Aug. 23, 2022),
60. The OLC Memo “conclude[s] that invocation of the HEROES Act to provide debt
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emergency could be structured as a permissible invocation of the Act,” id. at *13 (emphasis added),
b. Second, “the harm sought to be avoided must arise ‘because of ’ the
(emphasis added). That is, the Department of Education must “determine that the COVID-
19 pandemic was a but-for cause of the financial harm” sought to be addressed by any
to ‘ensure’ the beneficiary is not placed in a ‘worse position financially in relation to [the
words, any cancellation must “be structured to put loan recipients back into the financial
position they would be in were it not for the national emergency.” Id. at *14.
61. Legal challenges to the Mass Debt Cancellation Program were swift. On September
29, 2022, six States filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, alleging
that the Program exceeded the Secretary of Education’s authority and was arbitrary and capricious.
See Complaint, Nebraska v. Biden, No. 4:22CV1040, 2022 WL 11728905 (E.D. Mo. Oct. 20,
2022). The district court dismissed the case for lack of standing, Nebraska v. Biden, No.
4:22CV1040, 2022 WL 11728905, at *7 (E.D. Mo. Oct. 20, 2022), but the Eighth Circuit reversed
and granted the States’ request for an injunction pending appeal, Nebraska v. Biden, 52 F.4th 1044,
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62. In a separate suit filed by private plaintiffs, the U.S. District Court for the Northern
District of Texas held that the Mass Debt Cancellation Program was “an unconstitutional exercise
of Congress’s legislative power,” and vacated the Program on a nationwide basis. Brown v. U.S.
Dep’t of Educ., No. 22-cv-908, 2022 WL 16858525, at *1, 15 (N.D. Tex. Nov. 10, 2022). The
Fifth Circuit denied the Government’s motion for a stay pending appeal. Order, Brown v. U.S.
Dep’t of Educ., No. 22-11115 (5th Cir. Nov. 30, 2022), ECF No. 75.
63. On December 1, 2022, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in Biden v. Nebraska
to determine whether the plaintiff States have standing and whether the Mass Debt Cancellation
Program exceeds the Secretary of Education’s authority. Biden v. Nebraska, 143 S. Ct. 477 (2022).
The Supreme Court later granted certiorari before judgment in Department of Education v. Brown,
143 S. Ct. 541 (2022). The Supreme Court heard oral argument in both cases on February 28,
2023.
The Department of Education Extends the Loan Moratorium for an Eighth Time
64. In the midst of these legal challenges, the Department of Education announced an
eighth extension of the Loan Moratorium on November 22, 2022. Biden-Harris Administration
Continues Fight for Student Debt Relief for Millions of Borrowers, Extends Student Loan
Repayment Pause, U.S. Dep’t of Educ. (Nov. 22, 2022), https://bit.ly/3Y7V3aK (Eighth Extension
Announcement).
65. In its announcement, the Department of Education did not claim that this most-
recent extension of the Loan Moratorium was necessary to address harm caused to borrowers
affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Indeed, to the extent the pandemic was mentioned at all, it
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66. Instead, the Department asserted that the further extension was intended to
“alleviate uncertainty for borrowers” during the pendency of ongoing litigation regarding the
Biden Administration’s student-debt cancellation efforts. Id. The announcement thus quoted
Secretary Cardona’s statement that “it would be deeply unfair to ask borrowers to pay a debt that
they wouldn’t have to pay, were it not for the [pending lawsuits].” Id.
67. The Department also expressly tied the extension’s duration to the pending
litigation: “Payments will resume 60 days after the Department is permitted to implement the
program or the litigation is resolved,” and, “[i]f the program has not been implemented and the
litigation has not been resolved by June 30, 2023—payments will resume 60 days after that.” Id.
68. The Department did not explain why, if a further extension of the Loan Moratorium
was necessary to alleviate uncertainty for borrowers who might benefit from the Administration’s
student-debt cancellation policy, the Moratorium was applied to all borrowers, even those who do
69. Like the seven others that preceded it, the eighth extension of the Loan Moratorium
70. On January 30, 2023, the Biden Administration announced that it would end the
COVID-19 national emergency on May 11, 2023. Office of Mgmt. & Budget, Statement of
declared that ending the national emergency would have no effect on the ongoing student-loan
repayment pause. In response to questions about how a pause predicated on the existence of a
national emergency could nonetheless continue beyond the end of that emergency, the
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Administration explained its view that no ongoing national emergency was required to indefinitely
extend the pause. Instead, the Administration asserted that “[p]roviding debt relief and pausing
loan payments can continue after the formal end of the national emergency.” Michael Stratford,
Ending Covid Emergency Won’t Disrupt Student Debt Relief, Biden Administration Says,
PoliticoPro (Jan. 30, 2023, 8:48 PM), https://bit.ly/40mfIJb. An Administrative official further
opined that the Loan Moratorium “does not require an ongoing . . . national emergency” and that
“the emergency ending doesn’t change the legal justification [for the Loan Moratorium].” Press
Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, The White House (Feb. 1, 2023, 2:47 PM),
https://bit.ly/3XWDp9x; see id. (“[W]e’re not using any emergency power.”). The official declined
to answer questions regarding how far beyond the end of the national emergency the
Administration’s HEROES Act authority extends, or how the Administration is determining which
72. SoFi is the nation’s premiere lender in the student loan refinance space. Since 2012,
SoFi has refinanced over $30 billion in student loans for more than 450,000 borrowers.
73. Student loan refinancing enables borrowers to consolidate some or all of their debt
into a single loan with a new interest rate and loan period. Obtaining a lower interest rate can
reduce the total interest that a borrower pays over the course of his or her loan and may reduce the
borrower’s monthly loan payments. Adjusting a loan’s period can enable a borrower to achieve a
payment plan that is suited to his or her current and projected financial circumstances.
74. SoFi enables borrowers to refinance both private and federal student loans. When
a borrower refinances a federal student loan with a private lender like SoFi, the new, refinanced
loan is not subject to federal repayment programs (such as income-driven repayment plans) or
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policies (such as loan forbearance and deferment). Instead, the refinanced loan is subject to the
75. SoFi thus competes with the federal government for federal student loan borrowers
by offering them private financing under more favorable terms. In addition to lower interest rates
and revised loan periods, SoFi also offers deferment and forbearance for eligible borrowers under
76. The Loan Moratorium has directly harmed SoFi’s federal loan refinancing
business. Because the Moratorium suspended payments and interest for federal student loans, and
because privately refinanced loans are ineligible for programs and policies applicable to federal
student loans, the Moratorium has eliminated the primary benefits of student loan refinancing. In
essence, SoFi is being forced to compete with loans with 0% interest rates and for which any
77. Predictably, the Loan Moratorium has caused SoFi’s refinancing of federal student
loans to decline dramatically. Prior to the first Loan Moratorium, SoFi originated approximately
$450 to $500 million of refinanced federal student loans per month. Following the announcement
of the initial Loan Moratorium in March 2020, the volume of SoFi’s federal student-debt
refinancing dropped precipitously, to less than $100 million per month—a decline of more than
75%. And the decline in business has accelerated over time: By 2022, SoFi was originating
approximately 1/10th of the volume of refinancing compared to 2019. In fact, those numbers
significantly understate the effect, because SoFi’s federal student-debt refinancing business was
expanding swiftly when the Moratorium was initiated and likely would have continued to grow if
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78. The decrease in refinancing business caused by the Loan Moratorium has
substantially injured SoFi. Since the Loan Moratorium went into effect in March 2020, and as a
direct result of the Moratorium, SoFi has lost approximately $300 to $400 million in total revenues
from its federal loan refinancing business. As a result, SoFi has lost approximately $150 to $200
million in profits during that period. Those numbers also significantly understate the Moratorium’s
harmful effects, because they do not take into account the growth that SoFi’s federal student-debt
79. The injury to SoFi has continued throughout—and indeed, has been exacerbated
by—the eighth extension of the Loan Moratorium. As a result of the eighth extension, rather than
a return to normal business conditions following the lapse of the seventh extension at the end of
December 2022, SoFi continues to face competition from 0% interest rates and no required
monthly payments. Since the eighth extension went into effect in January 2023, SoFi has lost
Every day that the eighth extension of the Loan Moratorium remains in place, it causes significant,
irreparable harm to SoFi. SoFi projects that if the eighth extension continues in effect through
August 2023, it will result in $40 to $45 million in total lost revenues and approximately $25 to
80. Plaintiffs reallege and incorporate by reference all prior and subsequent paragraphs.
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81. The APA requires courts to “hold unlawful and set aside” agency action that is “not
82. The Department of Education’s announcement of the eighth extension to the Loan
Moratorium did not identify any statutory authority for the extension; and, to date, notice of the
83. To the extent the Department has instituted the extension under the HEROES Act,
the Loan Moratorium is contrary to law because it is beyond the scope of the Secretary of
that . . . recipients of student financial assistance . . . who are affected individuals are not placed in
a worse position financially in relation to that financial assistance because of their status as affected
85. As the Office of Legal Counsel has explained, this provision requires that: “(1) the
beneficiary of the cancellation must be an ‘affected individual’; (2) the harm sought to be avoided
must arise ‘because of’ the beneficiary’s status as such an individual; and (3) the Secretary must
deem the cancellation ‘necessary’ to ‘ensure’ the beneficiary is not placed in a ‘worse position
financially in relation to the individual’s financial assistance.’” OLC Memo, supra, at *13
(brackets omitted). Yet the eighth extension of the Loan Moratorium satisfies none of those
requirements.
86. First, beneficiaries of the extension are not “affected individuals” because they have
not “suffered direct economic hardship as a direct result of . . . [a] national emergency, as
determined by the Secretary.” 20 U.S.C. § 1098ee(2). The Loan Moratorium affects all federal
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borrowers in the country. Even insofar as the Secretary can be said to have determined that this
entire class of beneficiaries initially suffered “direct economic hardship” from early stages of the
pandemic, the Secretary did not make that determination for the relevant period of the eighth
extension: November 22, 2022, through August 29, 2023. Nor would such a determination be
supportable, given the Administration’s own account of the economy’s current strength.
87. Second, the asserted national emergency was not “a but-for cause of the financial
harm” sought to be addressed by the eighth extension. OLC Memo, supra, at *14. Indeed, the
Department of Education’s announcement makes clear that the extension does not seek to redress
harm caused by the pandemic at all. Instead, it seeks to “alleviate uncertainty for borrowers”
caused by ongoing “litigation” over the Biden Administration’s student-debt cancellation efforts.
Eighth Extension Announcement, supra. But minimizing any “unfair[ness]” that might result from
“ask[ing] borrowers to pay a debt that they wouldn’t have to pay, were it not for [the ongoing
litigation],” which is Secretary Cardona’s stated rationale for the extension, id., has no connection
to harms caused by the pandemic itself—much less a “but-for” causal connection, as required by
the statute.
88. Third, the eighth extension of the Loan Moratorium has not been “structured to put
loan recipients back into the financial position they would be in were it not for the national
emergency.” OLC Memo, supra, at *14. The extension is intended to address uncertainty caused
by litigation over the Administration’s debt-cancellation efforts, not the pandemic, and it is
structured for that purpose only: “Payments will resume 60 days after the Department is permitted
to implement the [debt-cancellation] program or the litigation is resolved,” and, “[i]f the program
has not been implemented and the litigation has not been resolved by June 30, 2023 payments will
resume 60 days after that.” Id. And regardless of whatever happens in the debt-cancellation
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litigation, the extension will not return borrowers to the financial position that they would have
occupied absent the current phase of the pandemic. Further, the extension applies to borrowers
who are not eligible for student loan forgiveness under the stated terms of the Department’s debt
forgiveness plan and who are not within the class of borrowers that Secretary Cardona claimed it
89. When an administrative agency asserts authority over matters of “economic and
political significance,” the major questions doctrine requires the agency to “point to clear
congressional authorization for the power it [has] claim[ed],” West Virginia, 142 S. Ct. at 2608–
09 (emphasis added) (quotation marks omitted). Even if the HEROES Act could plausibly be read
as authorizing the Secretary to extend the Loan Moratorium for an eighth time—and it cannot—
90. The eighth extension of the Loan Moratorium is therefore “not in accordance with
law,” is “in excess of statutory jurisdiction, authority, or limitations,” and must be set aside under
91. Plaintiffs reallege and incorporate by reference all prior and subsequent paragraphs.
92. The APA requires courts to “hold unlawful and set aside” agency action that is
93. Agency action is arbitrary and capricious if the agency fails to “examine the
relevant data and articulate a satisfactory explanation for its action including a rational connection
between the facts found and the choice made.” Motor Vehicle Mfrs. Ass’n of U.S., Inc. v. State
Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 463 U.S. 29, 43 (1983) (quotation marks omitted). Among other things,
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an agency rule flunks this test “if the agency has relied on factors which Congress has not intended
it to consider, entirely failed to consider an important aspect of the problem, offered an explanation
for its decision that runs counter to the evidence before the agency, or is so implausible that it
could not be ascribed to a difference in view or the product of agency expertise.” Id.
94. The Secretary of Education’s decision to adopt the eighth extension of the Loan
95. The announcement of the extension on November 22, 2022, did not identify the
legal authority under which the Secretary was extending the Loan Moratorium for an eighth time.
See SEC v. Chenery Corp., 318 U.S. 80, 88 (1943) (agency action must be judged “upon the
validity of the grounds upon which the [agency] itself based its action”). While prior extensions
were ostensibly based on the HEROES Act, the Secretary made no attempt to explain why the
eighth extension was an appropriate exercise of authority under the Act: why the extension,
although it applies to all federal borrowers, is aimed at only individuals “affected” by the current
stage of the pandemic; how it avoids harm arising “because of ” the pandemic’s current effects; or
why the extension is “necessary to ensure” that beneficiaries are not placed in a “worse position
96. Instead, the Secretary relied on “factors which Congress has not intended it to
consider,” State Farm, 463 U.S. at 43, such as a desire to “alleviate uncertainty for borrowers”
during the pendency of ongoing litigation regarding the Administration’s student-debt cancellation
97. The Secretary’s asserted justification for the eighth extension of the Loan
Moratorium fails even on its own terms. Even assuming a further extension of the Moratorium was
necessary to alleviate “uncertainty” for borrowers who might benefit from the Administration’s
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student-debt cancellation policy, the Moratorium applies to all borrowers, even those who do not
identified by the Administration—who are not subject to the uncertainty invoked by the Secretary,
yet who nevertheless are being relieved of the obligation to repay their loans.
98. The Secretary’s decision to extend the Loan Moratorium for an eighth time also
ignores “an important aspect of the problem,” State Farm, 463 U.S. at 43—namely, the substantial
change in the pandemic that has occurred in more than two years since the lapse of the Secretary’s
CARES Act authority. By the Administration’s own account, the threat to public health has been
dramatically diminished, and the economy is even stronger now than when the pandemic began.
Indeed, the most recent extension of the Loan Moratorium was instituted months after President
99. Finally, even insofar as the Secretary did consider these important aspects of the
problem, and nevertheless determined that an eighth extension of the Loan Moratorium was a
necessary and appropriate application of the statutory factors, any such determination would be
“implausible” and “counter to the evidence before the agency.” State Farm, 463 U.S. at 43.
100. The eighth extension of the Loan Moratorium thus is “arbitrary” and “capricious”
101. Plaintiffs reallege and incorporate by reference all prior and subsequent paragraphs.
102. Under the APA, courts must “hold unlawful and set aside agency action” that is
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“proposed rule making” in the Federal Register, id. § 553(b); must “give interested persons an
opportunity to participate in the rule making through submission of written data, views, or
arguments,” id. § 553(c); and must include in the rule’s text “a concise general statement of [its]
basis and purpose,” id.; see Perez, 575 U.S. at 96. The APA also requires “publication . . . of a
substantive rule [to] be made not less than 30 days before its effective date.” 5 U.S.C. § 553(d).
104. The eighth extension of the Loan Moratorium was not adopted through the required
notice-and-comment procedures. Notice of a proposal for the extension was not published in
advance in the Federal Register; interested persons were not given an opportunity to comment, and
their views were not considered by the agency; no concise statement was published articulating
the extension’s basis and purpose; and the agency did not provide for the required 30-day delay in
105. The eighth extension of the Loan Moratorium also violates the additional notice
requirement imposed by the HEROES Act itself, because the Secretary did not publish it “by notice
106. The rule was therefore promulgated “without observance of procedure required by
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follows:
1. Declare that the eighth extension of the Loan Moratorium is not in accordance with
and is invalid;
2. Vacate and set aside the eighth extension of the Loan Moratorium;
accordance with law in its application to borrowers who are not eligible for
forgiveness plan;
b. Vacate and set aside the eighth extension of the Loan Moratorium as to
those borrowers who are not eligible for student-loan forgiveness under the
to those borrowers who are not eligible for student-loan forgiveness under
6. Grant such other and further relief as the Court may deem appropriate.
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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I hereby certify that this document will be served on the Defendants in accordance with
Fed. R. Civ. P. 4.
32