- A federal judge in Texas struck down the Biden administration's plan Thursday evening."In this country, we are not ruled by an all-powerful executive with a pen and a phone," wrote Judge Mark Pittman of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, in his 26-page decision.Pittman, who was appointed in 2019 by former President Donald Trump, sided with the Job Creators Network Foundation, a conservative advocacy group.Obstacles for Biden's forgiveness plan mountThe president's student loan forgiveness plan was already on hold from a challenge brought by six Republican-led states — Nebraska, Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas and South Carolina — which also accused the president of overstepping his authority."The program is suspended but the U.S. Department of Education is appealing," Kantrowitz said, "And there were several aspects of the Texas court ruling that are unusual and may yield a successful appeal.""