Now that it’s tax season, you’re probably wondering what’s happening with President Biden’s plan to forgive up to $20,000 in student loans for eligible federal loan borrowers, putting a substantial dent in the roughly $1.6 trillion dollars collectively owed in the U.S. Immediately after its announcement last August, and before the administration could clear that money off the books, Republican politicians and conservative brought six lawsuits, arguing that it’s an example of governmental overreach, enacted without the sign-off of Senate through the use of the HEROES Act, originally signed into law in 2003 (more on that in a moment). Currently, Biden’s student loan plan sits in legal purgatory. Or, more technically, it sits with the Supreme Court.
So what’s going to happen? Here, at least, is what we know (as of April 2023) — and what we think comes next.
