The White House on Tuesday announced that it is extending the pause on student loan repayments through June 30, 2023.
The big picture: The latest extension comes as the Biden administration's student loan forgiveness plan remains in legal limbo. The pause on repayments had been set to expire in December.
- The Biden administration last week asked the Supreme Court to lift a lower court ruling that blocked the program — its latest attempt to revive it.
- A federal appeals court earlier last week blocked Biden's program, after a federal judge in Texas also blocked the plan.
- Some 43 million student borrowers eligible for relief are as a result stuck in financial uncertainty as litigation proceeds.
What they're saying: "I'm completely confident my plan is legal," Biden said in a video on Tuesday announcing the student loan repayment pause.
- "But right now it's on hold because of these lawsuits. We're not going to back down though on our fight to give families breathing room."
- "But it isn't fair to ask tens of millions of borrowers eligible for relief to resume their student debt payments while the courts consider the lawsuit."
Of note: Biden said the June extension timeline "would give the Supreme Court an opportunity to hear the case in its current term."
State of play: Biden in August announced his plan to cancel up to $20,000 in student debt for Pell Grant recipients and up to $10,000 for individual borrowers who make under $125,000 per year.
- The Department of Education has begun alerting student loan forgiveness applicants that they have been approved for relief under plan.
- As litigation plays out, the department pulled the relief application offline after millions of borrowers had already signed up.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional details.
