Biden to cancel nearly $8 billion more student debt before election

The U.S. Department of Education on Tuesday made public its plans to discharge an additional $7.7 billion in student loans held by 160,000 borrowers. It’s the latest of several waves of student loan debt relief rolled out by President Joe Biden during an election year. In total, Biden has approved about $167 billion worth of student loans to be cleared for 4.75 million Americans, the Education Department said in a statement. The average borrower has received more than $35,000 in debt relief, according to Biden. The Supreme Court last year blocked a White House plan to wipe out student loans. The previous plan had been more ambitious, Vice President Kamala Harris wrote Wednesday.

Since December, the Biden administration has approved sweeping billion-dollar loan forgiveness actions every month. Many politicians see the sudden push as an election season ploy. U.S. Rep. Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, chairman of the House Budget Committee, called Biden’s loan forgiveness policies a quest to buy votes. North Dakota Republican Gov. Doug Burgum has referred to Biden’s debt relief plans as pre-election payoffs. He said in the same interview that votes are being bought on an unprecedented scale. Biden’s maneuvering for an advantage in the election, Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis said of Biden’s sudden charge against student loans.

Who qualifies for the next round of debt wiping? Borrowers under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program or those on income-driven repayment are eligible for the latest round of debt relief, according to the Education Department. People under Biden’s Saving on a Valuable Education Plan, or SAVE Plan, and who are eligible for its shortened time-to-forgiveness benefit may also qualify for this round of relief.

Didn’t the Supreme Court already settle that he can’t do this? The 81-year-old president has continued to promise student loan forgiveness to borrowers even after the Supreme Court blocked his original $400 billion loan cancellation plan last year. The White House has resorted to using pre-established avenues for debt relief, like the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, or establishing programs like the SAVE Plan to force loan forgiveness.

Seven states challenged the constitutionality of Biden’s SAVE Plan in a joint federal lawsuit filed in April. The complaint alleges that the president is illegally saddling Americans with debt by side-stepping the Constitution. Nearly a dozen more states filed a separate federal lawsuit in March, also challenging the legality of Biden’s loan forgiveness.

Dig deeper: Listen to Nick Eicher and David L. Bahnsen discuss the morals attached to Biden’s loan forgiveness on The World and Everything in It podcast.