A federal judge ruled that the plaintiff lacked standing to bring a lawsuit against President Biden's $420 billion student loan write-off, according to The Washington Times.
The Brown County Taxpayers Association, based in Wisconsin, filed a lawsuit on Tuesday, claiming that the president's proposal to forgive up to $20,000 in student loan debt for students making less than $125,000 per year violates the Constitution's idea of the separation of powers.
Additionally, the group said that because the proposal clearly seeks to "promote racial justice," it infringes on taxpayers' Fifth Amendment rights to equal protection.
"Student loan debt relief takes from one group of people and arbitrarily distributes the spoils to another group," said Rich Heidel, the association's president.
"The plan amounts to nothing more than a modern-day version of King George III's Stamp Act where there was massive taxing and spending without participation of the people's representatives," the suit stated.
The group of taxpayers argued that, they are "on the hook" for the plan: "They will pay more in taxes to support a federal treasury that will be over $1 trillion smaller thanks to defendants' unlawful program," the complaint stated.
However, on Thursday, U.S. District Judge William Griesbach dismissed the group's argument, stating that individuals do not always have the legal right to file a lawsuit to stop government initiatives that would raise taxes.
"In the absence of standing, plaintiff's case must be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction," Judge Griesbach wrote in his decision.
"The court also notes, however, that even if plaintiff did have standing, it is unclear that the preliminary relief plaintiff seeks would be appropriate," he wrote. "A substantial question remains as to whether plaintiff can demonstrate that it will suffer irreparable harm."