CBO: Biden's student loan forgiveness plan could cost $400 billion

Driving the news: CBO also estimated that the administration's plan to extend the pause on loan repayments by four months would cost roughly $20 billion.

• "The president announced possibly the most expensive executive action in history without a score, and we’re now seeing just how expensive this policy is going to be," Marc Goldwein, senior vice president for policy with the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, told the Washington Post.

Between the lines: The CBO figures do not include the cost of the White House's plan to cap the monthly amount borrowers can be forced to repay as a percentage of their income from 10% to 5%, the Post notes.

The big picture: The Biden administration in August announced that it would cancel up to $20,000 in student debt for Pell Grant recipients and up to $10,000 for individual borrowers who make under $125,000 per year.

• Approximately 20 million Americans could have their debt completely canceled under the plan and more than 40 million could have at least some of their debt canceled.

• Conservative groups are already launching a search for prospective plaintiffs to challenge Biden's plan in court, Axios' Sophia Cai reports.

Go deeper... GOP governors urge Biden to withdraw his student loan forgiveness plan

Editor's note: This story has been corrected to note that CBO estimate is over 30 years, not 10.