WASHINGTON (AP) — A small-business advocacy group has filed a new lawsuit seeking to block the Biden administration's efforts to forgive student loan debt for tens of millions of Americans — the latest legal challenge to the program.

The suit, filed Monday by the Job Creators Network Foundation, argues the Biden administration violated federal procedures by failing to seek public input on the program. It's one of a handful of lawsuits that have been filed by conservative business groups, attorneys and Republican lawmakers in recent weeks as the Biden administration tries to push forward with its plan to cancel billions in debt before November's midterm elections.

Elaine Parker, president of Job Creators Network Foundation, slammed the program as executive overreach and complained that it does nothing to address the root cause of rising debt: the "outrageous increase in college tuition that outpaces inflation every single year.”

“This bailout is going to affect everyone in this country because of the mass size of the program," she said. “And everyone should have the opportunity to provide their views to the government." She added: “These universities need to be held accountable for this student debt crisis.”

A GOP legislator on Thursday endorsed Adrian Fontes, the Democratic nominee for secretary of state, over a member of his own caucus who has built his campaign on false and evidence-free claims that the 2020 election was rigged against Donald Trump.

“Most people are closer to the middle than they are to the extremes,” Republican state Rep. Joel John said in an interview with the Arizona Mirror. “The extremes on either end are the minority, and it is time for people to focus on policy and what is best for the state instead of on party power or political power.”

In a statement released by Fontes’ campaign, John said he was endorsing Fontes over the GOP nominee, state Rep. Mark Finchem. He said that Finchem’s desire to end mail in voting and Finchem’s desire to overturn the results of the 2020 election were disqualifying.

Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly (Ariz.) and gubernatorial candidate Katie Hobbs (D-Ariz.) currently have the lead in their respective races ahead of November’s midterm elections, according to a new CNN poll.

The poll, published on Thursday, found that 51 percent of respondents said they’ll support Kelly in next month’s Senate election, while 45 percent of those surveyed offered their support for Trump-backed Blake Masters.

Forty-nine percent of registered respondents have a favorable opinion of Kelly, while 39 percent of respondents said they have an unfavorable opinion of the incumbent senator, according to the poll.

In the gubernatorial race, 49 percent of respondents said they’ll support Hobbs in next month’s election for state governor, while 46 percent of those surveyed in the poll offered their support for Kari Lake, who was endorsed by former President Trump.

Biden administration guidelines designed to protect LGBTQ+ workers and transgender youth are “unlawful” and based on a misinterpretation of case law, a federal judge ruled this week in a lawsuit brought against the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

In guidance issued last year, the EEOC clarified that barring transgender workers from using facilities or pronouns consistent with their gender identity constitutes sex discrimination in accordance with the Supreme Court’s 2020 ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County, which protects employees from workplace discrimination based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Paxton sued the EEOC last September, arguing that states should have the ability to enact their own policies regarding things like bathroom usage. Paxton in his complaint said the guidance was an act of “extreme” federal overreach that puts women and children at risk.

The lawsuit was amended by Paxton in March to include HHS as a defendant after the department released new rules intended to protect access to gender-affirming health care for transgender youth.

Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, a Trump-appointed U.S. district court judge for the Northern District of Texas, has now ruled that the guidance issued by both the EEOC and HHS are “unlawful.”

While Title VII – a portion of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that prohibits employment discrimination based on characteristics including sex – prevents employers from discriminating against workers because of sexual orientation or gender identity, it does not protect “correlated conduct,” such as restroom or pronoun usage, Kacsmaryk wrote in the Oct. 1 ruling.

TOPEKA — A new poll of likely Kansas voters released Sept. 21 indicated Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly held a narrow lead over Republican nominee Derek Schmidt in a heated contest to be decided in less than two months.

Kelly, who is seeking a second term as governor, was favored by 44.6% of those participating in the survey, while Schmidt was the preference of 43.1%. Independent candidate Dennis Pyle, a lifelong member of the GOP until launching his bid, had 3%. Eight percent of those polled were undecided.

The 1.5 percentage point gap between Schmidt and Kelly in the FOX4 survey by Emerson College Polling was within the margin of error. In earlier polling in Kansas’ gubernatorial contest done by different organizations, Schmidt was ahead in two polls and Kelly in one poll. One of those polls had Pyle at 2%.

Spencer Kimball, executive director for Emerson College Polling, said the latest assessment revealed men in Kansas favored Schmidt over Kelly by a margin of 51% to 38%. At the same time, he said, women were breaking for Kelly over Schmidt 51% to 37%.

TOPEKA — A new poll of likely Kansas voters released Sept. 21 indicated Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly held a narrow lead over Republican nominee Derek Schmidt in a heated contest to be decided in less than two months.

Kelly, who is seeking a second term as governor, was favored by 44.6% of those participating in the survey, while Schmidt was the preference of 43.1%. Independent candidate Dennis Pyle, a lifelong member of the GOP until launching his bid, had 3%. Eight percent of those polled were undecided.

The 1.5 percentage point gap between Schmidt and Kelly in the FOX4 survey by Emerson College Polling was within the margin of error. In earlier polling in Kansas’ gubernatorial contest done by different organizations, Schmidt was ahead in two polls and Kelly in one poll. One of those polls had Pyle at 2%.

Spencer Kimball, executive director for Emerson College Polling, said the latest assessment revealed men in Kansas favored Schmidt over Kelly by a margin of 51% to 38%. At the same time, he said, women were breaking for Kelly over Schmidt 51% to 37%.

In the wake of the Dobbs ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, which overturned Roe v. Wade and put decisions about a woman’s right to choose in the hands of states, abortion rights advocates are urging Florida voters to reject all but one of the state Supreme Court justices on the ballot this year.

Laura Lawson is a lawyer working to call attention to what’s known as a merit retention vote. That’s a yes or no vote on whether the justices should remain on the court for another six years. Lawson’s recommendation is this:

“Vote yes on Justice Jorge Labarga and vote no on all four remaining justices,” she says. “I believe confidently after having researched this that they have committed to overturn choice in this state, to disrespect the privacy right in our constitution and to continue to move, because they have already been moving this court, in a direction that is inconsistent with the Florida Constitution and is inconsistent with the voters of the state.”

In the wake of the Dobbs ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, which overturned Roe v. Wade and put decisions about a woman’s right to choose in the hands of states, abortion rights advocates are urging Florida voters to reject all but one of the state Supreme Court justices on the ballot this year.

Laura Lawson is a lawyer working to call attention to what’s known as a merit retention vote. That’s a yes or no vote on whether the justices should remain on the court for another six years. Lawson’s recommendation is this:

“Vote yes on Justice Jorge Labarga and vote no on all four remaining justices,” she says. “I believe confidently after having researched this that they have committed to overturn choice in this state, to disrespect the privacy right in our constitution and to continue to move, because they have already been moving this court, in a direction that is inconsistent with the Florida Constitution and is inconsistent with the voters of the state.”

The Delaware Supreme Court ruled on Friday to overturn the vote-by-mail and same-day voter registration legislation, marking a huge blow to Gov. John Carney and Democrats.

The decision came just one day after oral arguments were heard on whether allowing all registered voters the choice to cast their ballot through the mail violates the state's constitution. The decision was only three pages long, with justices writing that a more formal opinion will be issued soon.

With the midterm election slated for Nov. 8, the Department of Election had intended to send mail ballots to voters on Oct. 10, which will now not happen.

The justices wrote in their ruling that the vote-by-mail legislation “impermissibly expands the categories of absentee voters identified” in the state constitution. The same-day registration law also conflicts with articles of the constitution, the justices wrote.