Biden fast-tracks $1.2 billion in student loan debt relief for more than 150,000 borrowers

President Joe Biden announced another tranche of student loan debt relief totaling more than $1 billion Wednesday morning.

The move comes as Biden has encountered growing dissatisfaction from young voters for several reasons, including his failure to extend student loan debt forgiveness to all American borrowers in the face of his 2024 White House reelection campaign. The president last year put forward a plan that would have made good on that campaign promise before the Supreme Court ruled his unilateral debt forgiveness proposal unconstitutional.

Wednesday’s announcement affects some 153,000 borrowers owing $1.2 billion, all of whom are eligible for shortened debt forgiveness under the “Plan B” debt plan Biden unrolled following the Supreme Court’s decision, a full six months ahead of the president’s previously announced schedule, according to senior administration officials.