LITTLE ROCK – Attorney General Tim Griffin issued a statement after the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia granted a temporary restraining order against the U.S. Department of Education’s recent attempt to cancel student loans.
"The Biden-Harris administration keeps trying to go around Congress, and they keep losing," said Griffin. "This is the third attempt this administration has made to unilaterally erase student debt on the backs of taxpayers who either paid back their student loans or never took one out."
Griffin expressed solidarity with his colleagues from Missouri, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, North Dakota, and Ohio in opposing what he termed "election-year theatrics" by the Biden-Harris administration. He emphasized that only Congress has the authority to change the law and pledged to continue fighting in court.
The court's decision was based on findings that “Plaintiffs have obtained documents revealing the Secretary [of Education] is implementing this forgiveness plan … without publication and has been set on doing so since May.” A hearing is scheduled for September 18.
About Attorney General Tim Griffin:
Tim Griffin became Arkansas’s 57th Attorney General on January 10, 2023. Previously, he served as the state’s 20th Lieutenant Governor from 2015-2023 and as a representative of Arkansas’s Second Congressional District from 2011-2015. His congressional roles included serving on several House committees and as a Deputy Whip for the Majority.
Griffin holds the rank of colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve Judge Advocate General’s Corps with over 28 years of service. He has held various positions including Army prosecutor at Fort Campbell and Commander of multiple Legal Operations Detachments. He earned a master’s degree in strategic studies from the U.S. Army War College.
His legal career includes roles such as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas and Special Assistant to President George W. Bush. Griffin is admitted to practice law in Arkansas (active) and Louisiana (inactive). He resides in Little Rock with his wife Elizabeth and their three children.