16 million approved for Biden’s student debt relief, but lawsuits preventing payout

Some 16 million applications for student debt relief will be approved by this week, provided the White House plan survives court challenges, Pres. Joe Biden said Thursday.

Almost 26 million people have applied for up to $20,000 in debt forgiveness since the White House launched the student loan forgiveness application on Oct. 17, Biden said in a series of tweets. Of those applications, a total of 16 million will have been pre-approved by the end of this week.

“That’s 16 million Americans, so far, who should be seeing student debt relief in the coming days,” Biden said. “But that relief is on hold — because Republican elected officials are doing everything they can to deny it, even to their own constituents.”