Biden Unveils New Student Loan Forgiveness Plan

President Joe Biden unveiled a new student loan forgiveness plan and described the proposal in a speech in Wisconsin.

Key Details: The plan would provide debt relief for more than 30 million borrowers who have carried debt for many years and struggled to make student loan payments. The first debt relief should kick in this fall.

Key Quotes: U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said the new plan "means freedom from feeling like your student loan bills compete with basic needs like grocery or health care." Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach said, "'Not since the civil war has a president told the Supreme Court, 'Yeah you blocked me, but I’m gonna do it anyway.'"

For Context: The plan is the latest attempt by Biden to forgive student debt after the Supreme Court blocked his plan last June. Since then, the Department of Education has been working on a replacement proposal and has already used its authority to cancel $127 billion of student debt for about 3.6 million borrowers since 2021 through the Public Loan Forgiveness program.

How the Media Covered it: NPR (Lean Left bias) noted that the plan may face legal challenges, though the Department of Education's "negotiated rule-making" process may give this plan a stronger legal case. Fox Business (Lean Right bias) also noted that Republican states across the country are likely to mount legal challenges. Update 4/8/24 4:12 p.m. ET: Edited following the Wisconsin speech.