A federal judge refused to block the CDC's moratorium on evictions - but said she believes the ban is illegal
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A federal judge refused to block the CDC's eviction ban on Friday.
But she wrote she believes the ban is illegal and her "hands are tied" with the Supreme Court's ruling in favor of the ban.
After the nationwide ban lapsed, Biden announced a new 60-day one after pressure from progressives.
A federal judge refused to block the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)'s moratorium on evictions on Friday.
But US District Judge Dabney Friedrich made it clear she believes the ban is illegal, writing in her opinion that the court's "hands are tied" by a higher court's ruling keeping the ban in place.
Friedrich wrote she believes the new ban on evictions implemented by the CDC is similar to a version of the rule she had deemed illegal in May, and she added in her opinion that even though President Joe Biden's administration "repeatedly" said it wouldn't further extend the moratorium given a June extension, but this effectively does so anyway.
Still, she agreed to keep the ban in place in May to prevent a wave of COVID-19 cases.
The eviction ban was initially announced on September 4, to take effect for the rest of 2020. On his first day in office, Biden extended the order through June 30 to aid tenants struggling through the pandemic's financial fallout. In May, Friedrich wrote that the CDC did not have the authority to impose a nationwide eviction ban, saying the ban was among "difficult policy decisions that have had enormous real-world consequences" in the pandemic, but ultimately the CDC could not overrule property rights.
In June, The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 to keep the moratorium in place and it was extended an additional month, through July. Its expiration at the end of that month prompted outrage from Democrats who argued that renters still needed pandemic relief.
Rep. Cori Bush, who led efforts to get the ban extended for a third time, slept at the Capitol as her Democratic colleagues went on recess in a process against renters being evicted. The pressure that progressives put on Biden ended up being successful - on August 3, Biden announced a 60-day eviction ban through October 3 that is not nationwide, but will protect an estimated 90% of renters.
While the extension was a win for renters, landlords turned to legal action. The Alabama Association of Realtors filed a lawsuit on last week challenging the moratorium's legality, arguing the CDC exceeded its authority. The groups argued the CDC caved into "a tidal wave of political pressure" from Democrats pressing the White House to act unilaterally, given that Biden had previously said there was no legal path forward for a further extension.
The new eviction moratorium is designed to protect renters in areas where community transmission rates are reaching "high or substantial" levels, and the Biden administration now appears to be focusing on distributing $46.5 billion in emergency rental assistance as fast as possible.
"By the time it gets litigated, it will probably give additional time while we're getting that $45 billion out to people behind on rent," Biden said last week, in reference to the moratorium's legal challenges.
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