The Student Debt Reset

Between 2020 and 2024, the Department of Education undertook two massive experiments on the student loan system. These were the “Biden Reforms.” These efforts were almost entirely the result of administrative interpretation of longstanding statutory law, with Congress playing at most a supporting role. The Biden Reforms, which engendered intense partisan opposition, were mostly stopped before they took effect. And the Trump administration has begun to use its own administrative interpretations (or executive ignoring of statutes) to tear up core parts of federal higher education finance. This Article explains how these initiatives came about, how the Biden Reforms were foiled, and how the conflicts around both have reshaped the law and politics of student loans moving forward. We argue that the federal student loan system enabled insider-driven politics that allowed for legislative compromise.