White House extends student loan debt payment pause to June

The Biden administration on Tuesday announced that it will extend the pause on federal student loan repayments through June 30 as its broader debt forgiveness plan remains in legal limbo. 

Federal borrowers were scheduled to resume payments in January.

"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 White House's decision to continue the payment moratorium comes in light of a federal appeals court ruling last week that blocked the president's $400 billion plan to cancel as much as $20,000 in debt for some borrowers. Earlier this month, a federal judge in Texas ruled that the loan forgiveness program is "unlawful."