**Biden Announces Cancellation of Nearly $4.3 Billion in Student Loans: ‘I Promised to…’**

 The White House announced that the total number of individuals who have had their student loans forgiven now stands at nearly five million.

    President Joe Biden has forgiven nearly $4.3 billion in student loans, according to Bloomberg.

Joe Biden has canceled nearly $4.3 billion in student loans as a final act of forgiveness before leaving office. In a statement released by the White House on Friday, the president announced plans to eliminate $4.28 billion in debt for approximately 55,000 public sector workers. According to Reuters, this brings the total number of individuals relieved of their student loans to nearly five million.

Biden Cancels Nearly $4.3 Billion in Student Loans for 55,000 Public Sector Workers

“From day one of my administration, I promised to ensure that higher education serves as a ticket to the middle class, not a barrier to opportunity,” President Joe Biden said in a statement.

“Thanks to our actions, millions of Americans now have the breathing room to start businesses, save for retirement, and pursue life plans they had to put on hold because of the burden of student loan debt,” he added.

Following this latest move, the total student loan forgiveness for public service workers has reached approximately $78 billion, benefiting nearly 1.1 million individuals. Student debt relief was a key promise of Biden’s 2020 campaign.

Despite his efforts, Biden faced significant challenges during his time in office. Last year, the Supreme Court blocked his proposal to deliver debt relief to over 40 million people.

The large-scale debt cancellation targets “teachers, nurses, service members, law enforcement officials, and other public service workers who have devoted their lives to serving their communities,” President Biden said in his statement.

U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona praised the latest round of student loan forgiveness, highlighting that it brings the total relief during Biden’s presidency to “nearly $180 billion in life-changing student debt forgiveness for nearly five million borrowers.”