White House Confirms Student Loan Relief Won’t Be Extended, With Payments Resuming Feb. 1

This may not be the news college graduates want to hear. 

The White House is not planning to continue relief for student loan repayments, which are set to kick back off on Feb. 1, according to press secretary Jen Psaki. The press secretary confirmed to reporters during a Friday press briefing that those who owe loans will have to get right back to business in just a couple of months, with the White House expected to release more details in the coming weeks. 

“We’re still assessing the impact of the [COVID-19] Omicron variant,” Psaki said. “But a smooth transition back into repayment is a high priority for the administration.  The Department of Education is already communicating with borrowers to help them to prepare for return to repayment on February 1st and has secured contract extensions with loan servicers.”

She added that Joe Biden’s administration is going to “engage directly with federal student loan borrowers to ensure they have the resources they need and are in the appropriate repayment plan,” and that “41 million borrowers” benefitted from the pause, which ends on Jan. 31.

As Forbes reports, Biden has canceled $12.5 billion in student loan debt for about 640,000 borrowers since he entered office.

The president initially campaigned on his support of clearing $10,000 of student debt per year of national or community service for up to five years and $50,000 total. He’s reiterated his beliefs, but has said he prefers Congress do it through legislation. His past budgets have also not included student loan forgiveness.