The White House has just placed a pause on federal student loan payments. 

The Washington Examiner reports that the administration of President Joe Biden did so in response to some recent court decisions that have gone against the White House.

This is the latest development in the White House's attempt to "forgive" significant amounts of federal student loan debt.

The administration, thus far, has largely failed in its efforts, being stopped by the courts. In response, they have been trying to find ways to circumvent the judicial rulings.

Background

The latest court decisions, regarding Biden's student loan forgiveness plan, came last Monday, according to the New York Times. 

Per the outlet:

Two federal judges in Kansas and Missouri temporarily blocked pieces of the Biden administration’s new student loan repayment plan on Monday in rulings that will have implications for millions of federal borrowers.

The plan is known as the "SAVE" plan.

The Washington Examiner explains:

The Saving on a Valuable Education plan, better known as SAVE, determines a borrowers’ monthly payment based on their earnings and family size. There are more than 8 million people signed up for the plan and 4.5 million of them qualify for $0 monthly payments because of their low earnings.

The Biden administration's Department Of Education (DOE) was planning on implementing the payment reductions of this plan on Monday, July 1, 2024. But, now, these courts have stopped Biden from doing so. It is interesting to note that the judges who issued the rulings were both appointees of former President Barack Obama.

What now?

It appears that the Biden administration is currently trying to make changes to the SAVE plan in order to comply with the court rulings. Accordingly, it has taken down its web application form for new borrowers who want to enroll in repayment programs. It is still, though, accepting paper applications.

In the meantime, Politico reports that the DOE has frozen monthly student loan payments.

"The Education Department will suspend monthly student loan payments and interest for some 3 million borrowers in response to court rulings blocking parts of President Joe Biden’s new loan-repayment program," the outlet reports.

It adds, "Department officials said Friday they would freeze the student loans of borrowers who are enrolled in the program — known as the SAVE plan — and required to make payments in July."

It is unclear how long the suspension will last. The Biden administration has asked for a stay of the court decisions.