Is Joe Biden’s student debt forgiveness plan legal?

President Joe Biden has made a long-awaited decision on how to handle student debt. On Aug. 24 Biden announced that his administration will waive student loan debt for qualifying Americans — $10,000 for individuals earning less than $125,000, plus an additional $10,000 for those who had received Pell Grants, which support tuition for lower-income students.

But can Biden make his plan stick? 

On that question, the jury is out.

Legal experts say the Biden administration’s legal rationale for waiving student debt may not hold up in court. But it’s unclear whether such a case could make it to court in the first place.

Here, we’ll look at the confusing legal battleground surrounding student debt relief.

About 20% of Americans have outstanding student loan debts, totaling an estimated $1.6 trillion.

Besides the waiver of $10,000 to $20,000, Biden also said the government would cap monthly loan payments for undergraduate loans at 5% of a borrower's discretionary income, which is half of the current level.