President Joe Biden revealed on Monday that his administration has approved student loan relief for over 150,000 more borrowers, bringing the total number of beneficiaries under his

administration’s debt forgiveness efforts to more than 5 million, according to a White House statement.

Despite a legal setback in his attempt to implement a broad federal student loan forgiveness program, Biden highlighted that his administration has "forgiven more student loan debt than any other administration in history."

The newly announced debt relief includes more than 80,000 borrowers who were defrauded by their schools, over 60,000 borrowers with total and permanent disabilities, and more than 6,000 public service workers, according to the president's announcement.

Focus on Existing Forgiveness Programs

With broad federal loan forgiveness blocked by the Supreme Court in 2023, the Biden administration has shifted its focus to revising and expanding pre-existing student loan relief programs. This strategy enabled the administration to continue providing relief through established pathways designed to assist borrowers facing significant financial burdens.

Biden pointed to improvements in several key areas:

Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF): This program cancels the remaining student loan debt for public servants after 10 years of qualifying payments.

Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) Programs: The administration addressed administrative errors and streamlined processes to ensure long-term borrowers received relief.

Pell Grant Expansion: The administration increased the maximum Pell Grant award, which provides need-based financial aid to low-income students.

Impact of Loan Forgiveness

Since Biden took office, over 5 million borrowers have received some form of loan forgiveness:

- 1.4 million borrowers benefited from income-driven repayment relief after spending decades repaying their loans.

- 1 million public service workers, including firefighters and teachers, had their debts forgiven.

- 1.7 million borrowers who were victims of higher education fraud received relief.

- 663,000 borrowers with total or permanent disabilities had their loans canceled.

Legal Challenges and Conservative Criticism

Monday’s announcement comes shortly after the Education Department withdrew broader plans to offer loan forgiveness for borrowers in severe financial distress. The Biden administration’s loan forgiveness initiatives have faced ongoing legal challenges from conservative groups and states, culminating in the Supreme Court's 2023 decision that ruled the administration’s initial forgiveness plan was an overreach of executive authority.

In August 2024, the Supreme Court denied a plea from the administration to lift a nationwide injunction imposed by a Missouri appeals court on its second attempt at broad loan forgiveness.

Critics, including congressional conservatives and President-elect Donald Trump, have argued that such programs unfairly shift the financial burden onto taxpayers who did not attend college. They contend that Biden's efforts exceeded the scope of presidential powers, a position upheld by the Supreme Court.

Biden’s Commitment to Education Access

“Since Day One of my Administration, I promised to ensure higher education is a ticket to the middle class, not a barrier to opportunity,” Biden said in his statement. Despite ongoing legal hurdles, the administration remains committed to finding ways to ease the financial burden of student loans for millions of Americans.