Biden Extends Student Loan Pause to June 2023 as Courts Stall Debt Forgiveness
Written by
Yaël Bizouati-Kennedy
Edited by
Cory Dudak
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The student loan payment pause — which was set to end Dec. 31, 2022 — will be extended to the end of June 2023 as the Biden administration awaits the Supreme Court’s ruling on the federal student debt forgiveness program, the White House announced on Nov. 22.
“The Administration is extending the pause on federal student loan repayments to allow for the Supreme Court to rule in the case on the student debt relief program. The pause will end no later than June 30, 2023. Payments will resume 60 days after the pause ends,” the White House tweeted.
The announcement came on the heels of the student debt relief program being blocked by federal courts.
The Department of Education said that the extension will alleviate uncertainty for borrowers as the administration “asks the Supreme Court to review the lower-court orders that are preventing the Department from providing debt relief for tens of millions of Americans,” according to a Nov. 22 statement.
It added that if the program has not been implemented and the litigation has not been resolved by June 30, 2023, payments will resume 60 days after that.
The department reiterated that 26 million people have applied for debt relief, and 16 million borrowers have thus far been approved.
“But court orders are blocking the Department from discharging student loan debt and accepting additional applications,” it said.
Biden Administration Asks Supreme Court To Lift Injunction
On Nov. 17, the Biden administration said it was planning to ask the Supreme Court to lift the injunction on its student debt relief program, according to court papers.
The filing came just three days after a federal appeals court issued a nationwide injunction on Nov. 14, temporarily barring President Biden’s student loan debt relief program.
“The injunction will remain in effect until further order of this court or the Supreme Court of the United States,” a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit said, according to the Nov. 14 ruling, as GOBankingRates previously reported.
This decision follows the pause on debt relief on Oct. 21 by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit, while engaging with a lawsuit filed by six Republican-leaning states (Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and South Carolina) as GOBankingRates previously reported.
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