The Biden administration has officially withdrawn its proposed student loan forgiveness plan, marking an end to its repeated efforts to cancel loan payments for borrowers.
The administration had previously introduced regulations that would have allowed the Department of Education to cancel loans for specific groups, including borrowers facing significant financial challenges and those who have been repaying loans for decades. However, on Friday, the Department of Education that it was abandoning these plans.
Citing “operational challenges in implementing the proposals,” the department explained that it would instead focus its limited resources in the administration’s remaining weeks on “helping at-risk borrowers return to repayment successfully.”
The withdrawal comes as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office in less than a month. The department acknowledged that the transition of power played a role in its decision, stating it needed to prioritize its resources during the transition period.
“The Biden administration knew that the proposals for broad student loan forgiveness would have been thwarted by the Trump administration,” explained higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz, according to CNBC.
President Biden’s efforts to cancel student loans have faced numerous legal challenges. In June 2023, the Supreme Court struck down a broad loan forgiveness proposal, prompting the administration to pursue alternative pathways to provide relief. These subsequent plans, however, also encountered significant legal and operational hurdles.
The withdrawal of the proposals signals the end of Biden’s campaign promise to cancel student debt, a commitment that had drawn criticism from legal experts who have long argued that the president does not have the authority to implement such drastic measures.
