Around 8 million Americans won’t have to pay federal student loans for at least six months, according to an Oct. 21 announcement from the Biden administration — but former president Donald Trump’s reclamation of the White House puts plans for debt relief in jeopardy.
The hold is part of the administration’s new set of rules to pass progressive debt relief policies, which state that the Department of Education can waive up to all of an individual’s outstanding loans if they are deemed unable to fully repay them due to personal hardships. The department decides who qualifies based on medical bills, family expenses and other unexpected economic circumstances that inhibit the borrower’s ability to fully repay the loans.
Trump and his party members have historically opposed expansive debt relief initiatives, and the president-elect has called President Joe Biden’s program “vile” and “not even legal.” At a rally in Wisconsin over the summer, he celebrated the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 decision to bar Biden’s previous debt relief plans, and he has consistently relayed intentions to substantially cut federal DOE funding.
GLS first-year River Hudges said that her mother’s student loan debt was entirely forgiven earlier this year and that she had also planned on taking out loans.
“I was hoping that my loans could potentially be forgiven in the future, just like my mom,” Hudges said in an interview with WSN. “But given the recent election results, I’m definitely concerned as to what another Trump term would mean.”
The latest effort to provide debt forgiveness is part of the White House’s Saving on a Valuable Education plan. As of now, people who have signed up for the plan are not required to make monthly payments for the next six months. While this is helpful for borrowers at the moment, its longevity is contingent on the program’s ability to prevail in courts under a Trump administration.
Biden has previously proposed to cancel nearly 500 billion dollars’ worth of student loans, which was blocked by a 6 to 3 Supreme Court ruling back in 2023. His alternative policies for forgiveness have canceled more than $175 billion in student loan debt for nearly 5 million Americans, accounting for around 11% of current outstanding federal student loan debt. The SAVE plan alone has forgiven around $5.5 billion in student loan debt for over 414,000 people.
Contact Eric Yue at [email protected].
