The time of student loan forgiveness under President Joe Biden is now over. Over $600 million in debt cancellations were announced Thursday for 4,550 borrowers on income-based repayment programs and 4,100 borrowers who the agency discovered had been cheated by DeVry University. This most recent declaration is the last measure taken by the Biden administration to cancel student loans.
With Thursday’s statement, Biden has now provided 5.3 million students with $188.8 billion in total student debt relief. In addition to government and nonprofit employees and people with total and permanent disabilities, it comes after a series of debt relief measures earlier this week, including $4.5 billion in relief for defrauded borrowers on January 15 and $4.2 billion in relief for additional defrauded borrowers on January 13.
Biden’s last round of $4.5 billion in student loan forgiveness
The Biden administration completed the largest loan forgiveness in a presidential term on Thursday by announcing its final wave of student debt relief. More than $600 million in student debt forgiveness was announced by the Department of Education for 4,550 borrowers who were enrolled in the income-driven repayment plan and 4,100 borrowers who were enrolled in Borrower Defense.
More than 5 million borrowers have received $188 billion in student loan relief from the government through 33 executive acts. The government claimed that its Borrower Defense program had forgiven 1.7 million loans, its Public Service Loan Forgiveness program had forgiven one million, its income-driven repayment program had forgiven almost 1.5 million, and it had forgiven over 600,000 loans for those with permanent or complete disability.
Given the widespread opposition to the loan forgiveness expressed by President-elect Trump, who into office on Monday, this move probably represents the last significant student debt relief that students will get for years.
‘Final’ Student Loan Debt Relief Approvals Announced by the Biden Administration
On Thursday, the Biden administration released its “final” approvals of student debt forgiveness for students under the income-based repayment (IBR) plan and borrower defense to payments, just days before the new Trump administration takes office. Through the IBR plan, the Department of Education (ED) authorized the forgiveness of $600 million in student loans for 4,550 borrowers.
In addition, ED authorized the discharge of 4,100 DeVry University debtors through borrower defense to repayment. ED did not specify how much money was being forgiven in total. Since assuming office, the Biden administration has authorized $188.8 billion in student loan forgiveness for 5.3 million students, according to ED.
On Thursday, the Education Department also reported that it has finished adjusting the accounts of borrowers on income-driven repayment programs. This update verified that the borrowers’ progress toward forgiveness was current and corrected the payment counts. According to the government, debtors who recently switched servicers may receive credit for an extra month or two of payments in the upcoming weeks.
Biden’s final steps on student loan forgiveness mark the end of a significant chapter for millions of borrowers. Since he has previously attacked Biden’s efforts, President-elect Donald Trump is unlikely to give comprehensive student debt forgiveness top priority. As a result, borrowers will probably continue to make their payments without further options for relief. A final court ruling on Biden’s SAVE plan, which he presented in 2023 to try to make payments more manageable, is still pending, and the 9 million borrowers who signed up for it are currently in forbearance.
261,000 additional student loan debtors receive a $4.5 billion debt cancellation
Biden also revealed that 261,000 students will have their college loans cancelled for an extra $4.5 billion. The settlement affects debtors who attended Ashford University, which was determined to have committed fraud by a court. One of Biden’s final debt reduction initiatives before he leaves office is this. In the last week of President Joe Biden’s presidency, more student loan debtors are receiving debt relief.
This announcement comes after the California Department of Justice filed a relief request after conducting a probe into Ashford and finding along with evidence from ED, that the school had misled students about the costs of attendance and the qualifications required to pursue their desired careers. In 2022, a federal court found Ashford guilty of fraudulent activity, and the California Department of Justice smacked the organization with a $20 million penalty. An appeals court affirmed the department’s findings of misconduct in 2024 after Ashford challenged the decision.
According to the Education Department, impacted borrowers will get an email in the next few days informing them of Biden’s last round of $4.5 billion in student loan forgiveness, and they should not do anything because this relief is a collective discharge, it also covers borrowers who did not submit borrower defense to repayment petitions on their own. Borrowers can file these papers to seek relief if they think the school they attended deceived them.
This may be Biden’s final round of student loan forgiveness before he steps down. The Education Department said on January 13 that it will cancel $4.2 billion in debt for 152,000 borrowers, increasing the total amount of student debt relief under Biden to nearly $180 billion for 5.3 million borrowers. The future of student loan forgiveness is unclear under President-elect Donald Trump, who has opposed widespread debt reduction in the past and is unlikely to carry on Biden’s debt relief initiatives.
| Official Website | Click Here |
| Homepage | BSEBInter.org |