Biden's student-loan forgiveness plan will still be legal even after the pandemic national emergency ends, the White House says

• The White House announced it's ending the COVID-19 national emergency declaration in May.
• Biden's student-debt relief plan uses the HEROES Act, which allows relief in connection with a national emergency.
• An administration official said the relief is still legal because the economic impacts of the pandemic will last longer than the emergency declaration.

President Joe Biden's plan to cancel student debt relies on the existence of a national emergency, and that emergency is now set to end in May.

But the White House said the legality of the debt relief will still stand.