The Washington Post has cited three people with knowledge of the matter.

The White House plan would apply to Americans who earned less than $150,000 in the previous year, or less than $300,000 for married couples filing jointly, two of the people told the Post.

The current government pause in student interest and payments expires at the end of August. It was not clear if the administration planned to resume payment requirement then.

Biden had hoped to make the announcement at the University of Delaware commencement this weekend, the sources said, but those plans changed after Tuesday's massacre of elementary school children in Texas.

Student debt cancellation has become a priority for many liberals and one that could shore up popularity with younger and more highly educated voters, who lean Democratic, ahead of November's critical midterm elections.

But the Biden administration has been reluctant to unilaterally make an unprecedented cancellation of college debt owned by the US government, a move that would test his legal authority.

Australian Associated Press