Biden administration did not fast-track student loan relief before final rule: official

• A senior Biden administration official says the U.S. Department of Education did not try to begin forgiving student debt for as many as 25 million Americans before publishing a final rule on the program.
• Seven Republican attorneys general last week convinced a federal judge in Georgia to temporarily block President Joe Biden's new student loan forgiveness plan by claiming the Department of Education was trying to secretly implement the plan before that rule was issued in October.
• The plan would forgive up to $147 billion in federal loans for higher education students.

A senior Biden administration official says the U.S. Department of Education did not plan to begin forgiving up to $147 billion in student debt for as many as 25 million Americans before publishing a final rule on the program — despite claims to the contrary by seven Republican state attorneys general.

Those AGs last week convinced a judge in Georgia to temporarily block President Joe Biden's new forgiveness plan for federal student loans by claiming the Department of Education was trying to secretly implement the plan before the final rule was issued in October.

The AGs in a lawsuit challenging the legality of the program alleged that Education Secretary Miguel Cardona "quietly sent orders to loan servicing companies to start mass canceling loans as soon as this week," which would violate regulations requiring the final rule to be issued first.

But the Biden administration official told CNBC that the Department of Education had only instructed loan servicers to get ready for the debt cancellation.

"We would not implement a rule before it's final," the official said.

A person close to the loan industry confirmed that account to CNBC, saying the DOE only