US President Joe Biden announced on Wednesday his long-awaited plan to fulfill his campaign promise of providing $10,000 to cancel student debt for millions of Americans, and up to $10,000 for those most in need of funding, along with new measures to reduce the burden of repaying remaining federal student loans.

Biden announced in a tweet that borrowers earning less than $125,000 annually, or families with incomes below $250,000, will be eligible for loan forgiveness. As for Pell Grant recipients, designated for college students with the greatest financial need, the federal government will cancel up to an additional $10,000 of federal loan debt.

If his plan survives the legal challenges almost certain to come, it could deliver unexpected gains to a segment of the nation ahead of the midterm elections next fall, as more than 43 million people have federal student debt, with an average balance of $37,667, according to federal data. Nearly one-third of borrowers owe less than $10,000, and about half owe less than $20,000. The White House estimates that Biden's announcement would wipe out student debt for about 20 million people.

On the other hand, supporters say the cancellation will narrow the racial wealth gap — Black students are more likely to borrow loans and in larger amounts than others. Four years after earning a bachelor's degree, Black borrowers owe an average of $25,000 more than their white peers, according to a study by the Brookings Institution.

The measure was praised by a broad range of Democrats, but it seemed unlikely to fully satisfy any of the factions that were vying for influence while Biden was considering the amount of cancellation and to whom it would apply. Biden also faced pressure from liberals to provide broader relief to severely affected borrowers, and from moderates and Republicans who question the fairness of any widespread forgiveness.

Details of the US president's plan were kept under tight guard as Biden balanced his options, and the administration said on Wednesday that the Department of Education will issue information in the coming weeks for borrowers eligible to participate in debt forgiveness.