Biden's student debt relief plans and the court fights that blocked them

The plan was challenged in court and in Congress. Six Republican-led states sued to stop it. A federal judge dismissed their suit, but a federal appeals court temporarily blocked the plan that October.^[9][10] The Supreme Court agreed to hear the case.^[11] Congress voted in 2023 to overturn the plan, and Biden vetoed the measure.^[12][13] In June 2023 the Supreme Court rejected the plan,^[2] and payments resumed in October.^[14]

Biden then turned to other routes. He offered an alternative repayment plan, known as SAVE, that could cut some borrowers' monthly bills to $0.^[15][16] In October 2021 it had already overhauled the troubled Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, making it easier for public workers to qualify.^[17] His administration also canceled debt in batches for public workers, borrowers with long repayment histories and students of failed for-profit colleges.^[18][19][20]

The new repayment plan met the same fate. Republican-led states challenged it, and conservative groups sued over a separate batch of cancellations. Two federal judges blocked parts of the plan in June 2024, and an appeals court blocked the rest in July.^[21][22][23] In August the Supreme Court left it on hold.^[3] By October his administration had canceled loans for more than 1 million public workers,^[24] and by January 2025 millions of borrowers had had loans canceled despite the collapse of his broader plan.^[4]