Biden can’t evade this problem forever. The president promised during his campaign to relieve people of $10,000 in student loan debt. So far, he hasn’t.
Americans with student loan debt get another temporary reprieve. The Biden White House announced on Wednesday that the president would extend a moratorium on loan repayment until May 1. The moratorium was originally scheduled to expire next month, so May 1 is a clear improvement on the status quo. Yet Wednesday’s extension raises uncomfortable questions for the administration. Americans collectively owed $1.6 trillion in student debt as of 2020. On the campaign trail, Biden had pledged to forgive $10,000 in student loan debt. That’s far less than plans put forward by Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren during the Democratic primary and far less, again, than a bill sponsored by Warren and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, which would cancel $50,000 in student loan debt if enacted. Biden has been clear on one point: He doesn’t believe he has the executive authority to cancel so much debt, an argument that progressives strenuously contest.
