How Biden is trying to go around the Supreme Court to cancel student loan debt

President Joe Biden continues to flex executive authority to extend student loan debt relief, despite the Supreme Court throwing out a past attempt at loan forgiveness over the summer.

To date, Biden has waived roughly $132 billion in student loan debt for 3.6 million borrowers, including a new tranche worth nearly $5 billion Wednesday night, but House Republicans will consider a measure Thursday morning seeking to block Biden’s action on the topic.

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Wednesday’s announcement from the Biden administration wiped clean student loan debt for 80,300 borrowers participating in income-driven repayment and the Public Service Loan Forgiveness programs.

“Before President Biden took office, it was virtually impossible for eligible borrowers to access the student debt relief they rightfully earned,” Biden’s Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said Wednesday night. “The data released today once again make clear that the Biden-Harris Administration’s relentless efforts to fix the broken student loan system are paying off in a big way, with more than 3.6 million borrowers now approved for nearly $132 billion in loan forgiveness. This level of debt relief is unparalleled and we have no intention of slowing down.”

“In the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision on our student debt relief plan, we are continuing to pursue an alternative path to deliver student debt relief to as many borrowers as possible as quickly as possible,” Biden added. “From Day One of my Administration, I vowed to improve the student loan system so that a higher education provides Americans with opportunity and prosperity — not unmanageable burdens of student loan debt. I won’t back down from using every tool at our disposal to get student loan borrowers the relief they need to reach their dreams.”

Biden’s original student loan forgiveness plan, which the Supreme Court struck down in June, unilaterally canceled up to $20,000 in debt for eligible borrowers. Republicans eventually sued the administration over the proposal, arguing it circumvented Congress’s fiduciary oversight. Critics also alleged that the president and Democrats were seeking to buy the votes of younger loan borrowers.

Since the summer, Biden’s “plan B” has focused on restructuring income-driven repayment plans to prevent eligible borrowers from accruing monthly interest on their payments and identifying new borrowers eligible for full debt cancellation under Public Service Loan Forgiveness, which has been law for 15 years.

Under that program, borrowers are eligible for debt cancellation after making payments for 10 years while working at qualifying employers, yet less than 5,000 people had made use of the program prior to Biden’s time in office.

The administration also rolled out new SAVE debt forgiveness plans over the summer and will continue amending them to allow more borrowers to take advantage of the plans, according to Cardona.

Biden’s post-Supreme Court debt actions will extend relief to a significantly smaller number of borrowers than his unilateral cancellation, but administration officials are adamant they cannot be challenged by Republicans in the courts because the action is already pursuant to U.S. law. Still, House Republicans will again consider new legislation seeking to block Biden’s loan forgiveness.

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That follows a failed attempt by Senate Republicans similarly to block Biden last month. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) was the sole Democrat to vote with Republicans.

“This legislation would mean higher payments for student loan borrowers and would dramatically raise costs for graduates,” the White House said ahead of that vote in the Senate. “It is exactly the wrong direction.”