Biden administration to extend payment pause on student loans until after June or when legal challenges resolve

The Biden administration on Tuesday announced that it will extend the payment pause on federal student loans until after June or when it’s able to move forward with its debt forgiveness plan.

Federal student loan bills had been scheduled to resume in January.

The administration’s move comes in response to a federal appeals court ruling last week that imposed a nationwide injunction on the debt relief plan.

“We’re extending the payment pause because it would be deeply unfair to ask borrowers to pay a debt that they wouldn’t have to pay, were it not for the baseless lawsuits brought by Republican officials and special interests,” Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement.

The pause will be extended until 60 days after the Biden administration is allowed to implement its student loan forgiveness plan and litigation is resolved, according to a press release by the U.S. Department of Education. If it can’t proceed with its policy and the legal challenges are still unfolding by June 30, 2023, student loan payments will restart 60 days after that.