When Joe Biden ran for president in 2020, he promised to forgive student loans for anyone earning up to $125,000. That's exactly what he has attempted to do as president.
However, it's quite possible that the issue will be front and center, yet again, in the next presidential term. What will Biden do about student loans if he wins re-election in 2024?
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Possibly nothing
Biden could do absolutely nothing about student loans if American voters give him a second term. He might not have to do anything.
The Supreme Court hasn't handed down its decision yet on challenges to the Biden administration's implementation of a student loan forgiveness plan. However, the ruling is expected to come this month.
The White House remains hopeful that the Supreme Court will be on its side. If so, the president's plan, which has been paused due to a lower court ruling, will again kick into gear.
That plan forgives up to $20,000 of student loans for Pell Grant recipients and up to $10,000 for non-Pell Grant recipients. The main catch is that a borrower must have an individual income of less than $125,000 or household income of less than $250,000.
Finish the job
Some political observers are skeptical that the Supreme Court will rule in favor of the Biden administration. Several of the conservative justices raised tough questions during oral arguments earlier this year.
Biden's key message in announcing his re-election bid was to ask voters to allow him to "finish this job." Should the nation's highest court squash his student loan forgiveness plan, the president would likely try again if he wins a second term.
An adverse Supreme Court decision, though, would probably mean that Biden wouldn't be able to forgive student debt solely via executive action. Instead, he would likely need to win legislative support for a new student loan forgiveness plan.
The chances of success for any new plan would depend on the makeup of the U.S. Congress in 2025. Should the GOP retain control of the House of Representatives, Biden could have a tough challenge in getting his plan through.
What if Biden wins re-election and manages to secure enough Congressional support for student loan forgiveness? It's possible that any bill that makes it through both chambers could be different than the plan the president has already attempted to implement.
A compelling incentive
Biden definitely has a compelling incentive to try to again move forward with student loan forgiveness. Younger Americans, many of whom had student debt, were key to his victory in 2020.
It isn't just young Americans who support forgiving student loans, though. In February 2023, a poll conducted by Beacon Research and Shaw & Company Research for Fox News found that 62% of respondents think that at least some amount of student debt should be forgiven.
Even if the Supreme Court strikes down the president's plan to forgive student loans, the issue isn't dead. If Biden gets a second chance to serve a presidential term, student loan forgiveness will probably get a second chance, too.
