Biden will forgive an additional $7.4 billion in 277,000 borrowers' student loan debt

The Biden administration declared on Friday that it would use already-existing student loan forgiveness programs to help 277,000 additional borrowers get their $7.4 billion in student debt forgiven.

The Department of Education has expedited loan forgiveness for certain groups, like public sector employees, under the direction of President Joe Biden. In addition, a new repayment plan that aims to hasten loan forgiveness for numerous low-income borrowers has been unveiled; however, Republican-led states are suing to block it.

Over 4.3 million people have benefited from the $153 billion in total student loan debt cancellation that the Biden administration has approved, accounting for more than 9% of all federal student loan debt that is still outstanding.

Many Republicans have criticized Biden's proposals for student loan forgiveness, claiming that taxpayers who either did not attend college or have already paid off their loans are being unfairly burdened. Additionally, they argue that Biden is eluding the Supreme Court, which struck down his main student loan forgiveness initiative last year.