Despite his two previous unsuccessful attempts to cancel student loans on a grand scale, President Joe Biden is moving ahead with a new plan to forgive student loans with a proposed new rule that would authorize forgiveness for eight million borrowers facing "hardship."

Under the new plan, the Education Department can discharge debt if it calculates a borrower has an 80% likelihood of defaulting on payments within two years based on 17 factors, including income, debt balances and assets.

Biden's first attempt at student loan forgiveness was axed by the Supreme Court on June 30, 2023.  Hours later, the president announced the $475 billion Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan, which has been tied in federal courts for months and is now on hold, after a federal judge in Missouri blocked the plan earlier this month, just one day after a judge in Georgia gave approval to go forward. The states argued that the SAVE plan, which the administration had wanted to start implementing this fall ahead of the presidential election, is illegal.