WASHINGTON (AP) – Biden administration cancels student loans for an additional 55,000 workers through an existing program known as Public Service Loan Forgiveness.

Friday’s announcement by the Department of Education targets teachers, nurses, military personnel, law enforcement officials and anyone who has reached eligibility through the program, which promises to forgive loans after 10 years of working in government or nonprofit jobs.

The $4.28 billion in aid is expected to be the last public service loan forgiveness cycle before President Joe Biden leaves office in January. After failing to deliver on his promise of widespread loan forgiveness, Biden instead focused on expanding loan relief through programs created before his presidency.

Under Biden, the Department of Education has relaxed rules for Public service loan forgivenesswho previously had a 99% rejection rate amid cumbersome rules and widespread confusion over eligibility requirements.

With the latest round of relief, Biden has now canceled an unprecedented $180 billion in federal student loans through existing programs, covering 4.9 million Americans. This includes $78 billion for approximately one million borrowers through PSLF.

“From my first day in office, I promised to make higher education a ticket to the middle class, not a barrier to opportunity,” Biden said in a statement. “Thanks to our actions, millions of people across the country now have the flexibility to start a business, save for retirement and pursue life projects that they had to put aside due to the burden of the student debt.”

However, the Democrat has failed of its goal of providing widespread aid to millions of other Americans. Biden’s first mass overturn attempt was blocked by the Supreme Court, and his second attempt remains entangled in a legal battle brought by the Republican States.

In October, he proposed another rule that would cancel loans made to people facing various types of hardship. financial difficultiesalthough it is unlikely to take effect.

Trump has not detailed his student loan plans for his second term, but on the campaign trail he called Biden’s forgiveness plans illegal and “despicable.” Congressional Republicans have criticized Biden for his cancellation work, saying he unfairly shifts the burden to taxpayers who didn’t go to college or have already paid off their loans.

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