About 22 million people have applied for student loan forgiveness, Biden said, as GOP states and lawsuits continue to rush to block the program

President Joe Biden said on Friday that 22 million people applied for student loan forgiveness within a week.

"In less than a week, close to 22 million people have given us the information to be considered for this life-changing relief," Biden said.

On October 14th, applications for debt relief went live on studentaid.gov.

The White House says that around 43 million borrowers are eligible for student loan forgiveness. Half of eligible borrowers have applied for debt cancellation.

Biden said that it is as easy to apply as it is to hang out with your friends or watch a movie.

As legal challenges threaten to put a pause on the debt relief, the timelines for when the loans will be cleared remain up in the air.

A federal judge threw out a lawsuit that challenged the program on Thursday. The states' tax revenues would be hurt if the debt was forgiven.

The states want a temporary stay on Biden's program until a final judgement is made on the case. The student-loan forgiveness program will be halted if the stay is granted.

The Biden administration has made progress against legal challenges.

Justice Amy ConeyBarrett turned down an emergency request from a Wisconsin group to stop Biden's student debt cancelation program.

There are more than one lawsuit in the works. The libertarian think tank, the Cato Institute, filed a lawsuit against Biden's program this week, and a federal judge is expected to hear the case next week.