The White House announced on Friday that it will hand out roughly $4.28 billion worth of student loan forgiveness to 54,900 public workers.

Yet in a move sure to leave many of his voters furious, President Joe Biden has also abandoned a much more ambitious plan that would cover millions of other borrowers. 

Department of Education shifting focus due to "operational challenges"

According to Politico, the Department of Education revealed late last week that it is dropping two major debt forgiveness proposals, citing "operational challenges."

Rather than increasing the number of people eligible for relief, the Biden administration will focus its efforts on "helping at-risk borrowers return to repayment successfully."

Biden abandons mass student debt cancellation plans amid GOP lawsuit https://t.co/EHQ7UWTuun

— POLITICO (@politico) December 20, 2024

That move comes in the wake of a decision by Eastern District of Missouri Judge Matthew Schelp, who was appointed by President-elect Donald Trump four years ago.

As CNBC reported, Schelp issued a preliminary injunction in October which prevented one of the student loan forgiveness proposals from going into effect.

Incoming Trump administration looking to "pull the plug" on debt relief

"Allowing Defendants to eliminate the student loan debt at issue here would prevent this Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court from reviewing this matter on the backend, allowing Defendants’ actions to evade review," he wrote.

What's more, Politico noted that Schelp issued another order on Friday in which it ordered the White House to give a fuller explanation of its debt plans.

Meanwhile, Politico reported in November that members of the incoming Trump administration are looking at ways to "pull the plug" on Biden's debt relief schemes.

Sources say that they include Jonathan Pidluzny, who oversees higher education issues at the conservative America First Policy Institute (AFPI).

Group calls debt forgiveness " unlawful, counterproductive, and deeply unfair"

AFPI has denounced student loan forgiveness plans as being "not just expensive" but "also unlawful, counterproductive, and deeply unfair."

"Student loan bailouts saddle Americans, including those without a college degree, with new tax liabilities and will lead to higher tuition prices without increasing educational quality," it asserted in a September statement.

Michael Brickman served as a senior Department of Education official during President-elect Donald Trump's first administration, and he predicted that addressing the issue will be difficult.

"It's going to be insanely complicated," Brickman was quoted as telling Politico. "You really can't overstate the mess that this new administration is inheriting."