Biden v. Nebraska is the case the Supreme Court will hear later this month on the question of the president’s authority to forgive student-loan debt.

A very powerful brief in favor of Nebraska has been submitted by a host of great legal brains, including Michael McConnell, William Barr, and C. Boyden Gray.

The argument is very clear: The power of the purse belongs to Congress alone. The president has no authority to expend funds simply at his say so.

From the brief:

“This case gives the Court an opportunity to uphold the structural disciplines on executive power. If the Court reaches the merits, it should make clear that spending statutes must be interpreted in accordance with Congress’s instructions. If this Court turns a blind eye, the executive will have virtually unlimited power to spend. That might befit the Stuart King Charles I, but not a President of the United States.”

Well put.