Biden's student debt relief plans and the court fights that blocked them

Key momentsthe most covered; every story is below

Who covered it, over timeindependent sources per week, by side

LeftCenterRight

Point at or tap a week to see its count by side.

Stories before June 28, 2026 come from archived pages, so who covered them is limited to the outlets we recovered for that period.

30% left · 54% center · 16% right of 211 independent sources among the outlets we track, across 42 stories.

Every storyoldest first

1. January 2024

   Jan 12Student loan forgiveness under SAVE plan to begin next month8 articles · 6 independent sources

   2 left, 1 center, 0 right
2. Jan 12– 13Some Americans will get their student loans canceled in February as Biden accelerates his new plan57 articles · 38 independent sources

   7 left, 11 center, 6 right
3. Jan 18– 20Biden cancels student loan debt for another 74K borrowers50 articles · 22 independent sources

   3 left, 10 center, 8 right

4. February 2024

   Feb 20– 23Biden Cancels $1.2 Billion in Student Loan Debt: What To Know96 articles · 52 independent sources

   17 left, 17 center, 12 right

5. March 2024

   Mar 7– 8Biden touts ‘fixed' student loan forgiveness programs in State of the Union. Here's what he meant11 articles · 9 independent sources

   1 left, 4 center, 1 right
6. Mar 21– 22Biden cancels student loans for 78,000 more public workers57 articles · 28 independent sources

   7 left, 12 center, 5 right
7. Mar 28– 29Republican states file lawsuit challenging Biden’s student loan repayment plan20 articles · 16 independent sources

   2 left, 3 center, 8 right

8. April 2024

   Apr 5– 12Biden to forgive $7.4 billion more in student loan debt for 277,000 borrowers68 articles · 29 independent sources

   11 left, 14 center, 2 right
9. Apr 5President Joe Biden will unveil his new plan to give student loan relief to many new borrowers8 articles · 8 independent sources

   2 left, 2 center, 0 right
10. Apr 5– 12Biden administration announces another round of loan cancellation under new repayment plan26 articles · 22 independent sources

    2 left, 4 center, 3 right
11. Apr 5– 9Biden announces more student loan relief plans in battleground Wisconsin138 articles · 69 independent sources

    20 left, 22 center, 12 right
12. Apr 8– 9What to know about President Biden's latest attempt at student loan cancellation18 articles · 7 independent sources

    1 left, 2 center, 0 right
13. Apr 9– 10More Republican states sue to block Biden’s student loan repayment plan23 articles · 20 independent sources

    1 left, 6 center, 6 right
14. Apr 10– 17Biden announces a fresh round of $7.5 billion in student loans canceled31 articles · 21 independent sources

    5 left, 6 center, 7 right
15. Apr 16President Biden's latest plan for student loan cancellation moves forward as proposed regulation12 articles · 6 independent sources

    0 left, 2 center, 0 right
16. Apr 28– 30Student loan forgiveness: Some may qualify but need to take action by April 3022 articles · 7 independent sources

    2 left, 4 center, 0 right

17. May 2024

    May 1– 3$6.1 billion in student loan debt canceled for enrollees at for-profit Art Institutes48 articles · 33 independent sources

    9 left, 11 center, 2 right
18. May 14– 15Federal student loan interest rate will rise to highest level in 12 years15 articles · 8 independent sources

    1 left, 4 center, 1 right
19. May 22– 24Biden administration canceling student loans for another 160,000 borrowers69 articles · 47 independent sources

    11 left, 13 center, 6 right

20. June 2024

    Jun 11Americans are split on Biden's student loan work, even those with debt, an AP-NORC poll finds6 articles · 6 independent sources

    3 left, 0 center, 2 right
21. Jun 24– 25Two Federal Judges Block Part Of Biden’s Student Loan Forgiveness Plan58 articles · 33 independent sources

    6 left, 8 center, 9 right
22. Jun 28– Jul 13 million student loan borrowers to be placed in payment pause20 articles · 8 independent sources

    2 left, 4 center, 1 right
23. Jun 29– Jul 2Biden can move ahead with plan to lower monthly payments for millions of student loan borrowers9 articles · 8 independent sources

    1 left, 3 center, 4 right

24. July 2024

    Jul 1– 2Appeals court allows part of Biden student loan repayment plan to go forward11 articles · 11 independent sources

    1 left, 2 center, 0 right
25. Jul 17– 18Biden announces additional $1.2 billion in student debt relief28 articles · 17 independent sources

    2 left, 12 center, 1 right
26. Jul 18– 19Federal appeals court blocks remainder of Biden's student debt relief plan62 articles · 44 independent sources

    7 left, 15 center, 8 right
27. Jul 31Biden administration ramps up student loan forgiveness plan8 articles · 7 independent sources

    1 left, 3 center, 3 right

28. August 2024

    Aug 10Federal appeals court issues another blow to Biden’s student loan repayment plan7 articles · 7 independent sources

    1 left, 2 center, 1 right
29. Aug 28– 29Supreme Court temporarily bars latest Biden student debt relief plan61 articles · 51 independent sources

    10 left, 14 center, 10 right

30. September 2024

    Sep 4Republican-led states file new lawsuit to block Biden’s student loan forgiveness plans15 articles · 13 independent sources

    1 left, 6 center, 2 right
31. Sep 12Navient banned from federal student loan servicing, fined $120M11 articles · 10 independent sources

    3 left, 6 center, 0 right
32. Sep 30– Oct 2A temporary student loan benefit ends Monday – here's what borrowers should show31 articles · 14 independent sources

    1 left, 6 center, 1 right

33. October 2024

    Oct 3– 4Biden’s student loan cancellation is put on hold again after day of legal whiplash31 articles · 19 independent sources

    0 left, 5 center, 3 right
34. Oct 3– 4Missouri judge blocks Biden student loan forgiveness that was cleared to proceed30 articles · 18 independent sources

    4 left, 8 center, 4 right
35. Oct 17The Biden administration has now canceled loans for more than 1 million public workers36 articles · 27 independent sources

    4 left, 10 center, 6 right
36. Oct 22– 25New Biden Student Loan Forgiveness Plan Targets Borrowers In Financial Distress17 articles · 9 independent sources

    2 left, 6 center, 1 right
37. Oct 25Biden tries again at student loan cancellation, for those in financial hardship11 articles · 7 independent sources

    0 left, 4 center, 0 right

38. November 2024

    Nov 7– 9Student loan forgiveness: Trump's win brings uncertainty to borrowers27 articles · 13 independent sources

    1 left, 5 center, 1 right

39. December 2024

    Dec 20Biden Cancels Nearly $4.3 Billion In Student Loan Debt—Here’s Who Qualifies35 articles · 27 independent sources

    2 left, 10 center, 10 right

40. January 2025

    Jan 13– 15Millions have had student loans canceled under Biden — despite the collapse of his forgiveness plan40 articles · 24 independent sources

    3 left, 9 center, 2 right

41. February 2025

    Feb 18– 19U.S. appeals court blocks Biden SAVE plan for student loans14 articles · 10 independent sources

    1 left, 3 center, 5 right

42. March 2026

    Mar 27– 28Education Department directs student borrowers in SAVE plan to prepare for repayment9 articles · 8 independent sources

    1 left, 5 center, 1 right