LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – A federal judge in Missouri has dismissed a case filed by Arkansas and five other states looking to block the Biden administration’s plan to forgive up to $20,000 of student loan debt for some borrowers.

District Judge Henry Autrey out of the Eastern District of Missouri issued the ruling late Thursday.

Just before 7 p.m., Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge said she would immediately file an appeal on behalf of the state and the others tied to the case – Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and South Carolina.

“I’m disappointed in the court’s decision to dismiss our lawsuit,” Rutledge said in a statement. “The state coalition will immediately appeal this decision.”

The dismissal of the case was the second legal blow against opponents to the Biden plan Thursday. Earlier in the day Supreme Court Just Amy Comey Barrett denied an emergency bid to block the plan that came from a group out of Wisconsin.

The six-state lawsuit was filed in September and claimed the student debt forgiveness plan violated federal law, ignored the separation of powers and violated the Administrative Procedure Act.

If Rutledge files an appeal in the case, it will roll up to the 8^th Circuit Court of appeals.