Biden Mulling Canceling Student Loans: Here's Who May Qualify

President Joe Biden is reportedly mulling options to cancel some student loan debt, amid ongoing calls from Democrats.

According to CBS News, Biden met Tuesday with several members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, where discussions surrounded a possible plan to forgive a large amount of student loan debt.

The report from CBS News comes shortly after the U.S. Department of Education announced it was immediately canceling federal student loan debt for 40,000 borrowers under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program, citing "historical failures in the administration of the federal student loan programs."

While it is currently unclear who would immediately qualify for student loan forgiveness, California Democratic Representative Tony Cardenas, who attended the meeting on Tuesday, told CBS news that Biden signaled openness to relieving student loan debt for federal borrowers who attended either a private or public institution.

During an interview with CBS News, Cardenas said that Biden did not mention a specific amount that he would consider canceling, "nor did the president say that he was going to wipe out all student debt."

"He did a dialogue with us about the differential between young people who went to public schools or private schools, and we CHC members said he should focus on both. And he said, 'OK, good to know,'" Cardenas told CBS News.

While speaking with the Washington Post, Cardenas also noted that Biden was "incredibly positive" about the Democratic representative's calls for him to cancel $10,000 worth of federal student loan debt per borrower.

If Biden is to take action to cancel student loan debt, it is possible that he follows a similar path that his administration took earlier this month when 40,000 borrowers were relieved. Under this action, teachers, military members and health care workers with 10 years of federal loan payments saw immediate cancellation. Additionally, the plan provided 3.6 million borrowers with at least three years of credit toward income-driven repayment (IDR) forgiveness.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government has continued to pause federal student loan payments. Earlier this month, Biden once again extended this pause to August 31.

During a press briefing on Monday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki was asked about Biden possibly canceling all student loans.

"What I would tell you is that not a single person in this country has paid a dime on student — federal student loans since the president took office," Psaki said. "And what we have said is that he would make a decision about any cancellation of student debt before the conclusion of that pause on student loans, but I don't have anything to preview for you at this point in time."

Newsweek reached out to the White House for comment.