Biden to extend loan payment pause

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden announced Tuesday that his administration will extend the pause on federal student loan payments while the White House fights a legal battle to save his plan to cancel portions of the debt.

“It isn’t fair to ask tens of millions of borrowers eligible for relief to resume their student debt payments while the courts consider the lawsuit,” Biden said.

The moratorium was slated to expire Jan. 1, a date Biden set before the debt cancellation plan stalled amid legal challenges from conservative opponents.

Now it will extend until 60 days after the lawsuit is resolved.

If the lawsuit has not been resolved by June 30, payments would resume 60 days after that.

The Justice Department last week asked the U.S. Supreme Court to examine the issue and reinstate the plan.