Biden Announced Loan Forgiveness a Year Ago. The Battle Was Only Beginning.

A year ago today, President Biden stood in the Roosevelt Room of the White House and declared that his administration would cancel some or all of the student loan debt for 43 million Americans—a groundbreaking decision that kicked off a year of legal battles and fierce debates over student loan policy. For advocates of debt relief, the announcement represented a hard-won victory, especially since the president had initially been skeptical of his ability to cancel student loans via executive action. For eligible borrowers, the announcement meant a lifeline before payments resumed following a three-year pandemic pause. For critics, particularly conservatives and congressional Republicans, the president’s decision was galling in its overreach and scale.