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Updated Post 8/27/21
So it came back through SCOTUS and the ban is dropped now unless Congress were to act. 6-3 ruling this time
Supreme Court throws out Biden administration eviction moratorium
CNN
Original Post 8/12/21
I've only seen threads about eviction bans in general but nothing about the specific politics behind the CDC renewal so here it goes:
-Last year at the beginning of the COVID pandemic, Trump did an executive order calling for a ban on evictions for a few months
-Near the time it was about to end, the CDC extended the eviction ban
-This went through the courts about if the CDC had the authority to do this. The circuit court ruled no and it went to SCOTUS.
-The 5-4 ruling allowed the eviction ban to stay in place but had a Kavanaugh concurrence stating the CDC technically doesn't have the authority but since there was only a few weeks left on the order, it will remain in place until July 31st. He stated congressional approval would be needed for the eviction ban to be extended.
-Though Pelosi and the White House wanted action on this, certain house democrats opposed an extension, leaving the house with not enough votes to act.
-With the deadline approaching, Biden chose to extend the order, despite admitting he the advice he received from the majority of Constitutional scholars was that the extension would be unconstitutional. He did change the ban to only "experiencing substantial and high levels of community transmission" so the order is somewhat narrower.
The authority for the CDC's eviction ban is argued under this law, giving them a broad authority in preventing the transmission of a communicable disease.
The extension likely will be struck down now by SCOTUS, with either Kavanaugh swinging to the other side now or possibly more Justices joining as the extension defied a SCOTUS ruling. What's annoying here to me is the courts are already being politicized enough by the media. As president, acting in a way that pushes responsibility back to the courts while also defying them isn't good for the system. I don't know how the next ruling will be portrayed but I'm not a fan of the executive stretching how far they can stretch or manipulate their authority even if they think it would stand up in the long term. There's some governors doing this as well and it really forces the courts to have to step in on more issues than would normally be needed if those in the office would show some restraint on the limits of their power. This isn't necessarily new in the executive branch. Some of the recent examples being rehashed was Trump diverting military funds to a border wall or Obama's decision on DACA. This is just another chapter but I think a very bad one because it not only defies the courts but also Congress as they failed to act.
Further Reading
Biden’s Illegal, Wrongheaded Eviction Ban by Wall Street Journal Editorial Board
Protecting public health from judicial arrogance by Laurence Tribe (Boston Globe)
Biden's Rebuff to Supreme Court on Eviction Ban Will Backfire by Noah Feldman (Bloomberg)
The Supreme Court Might Strike Down Biden’s Eviction Ban. It Shouldn’t. by Adam Winkler (The New York Times)
What are your thoughts? Does the CDC have the authority to have something as vast as an eviction ban? Were the courts overstepping in saying they don't? Was Biden overstepping in extending the ban despite the SCOTUS ruling?
Also, if I have missing parts the timeline here, feel free to let me know. Seems like its been a year long story.
So it came back through SCOTUS and the ban is dropped now unless Congress were to act. 6-3 ruling this time
Supreme Court throws out Biden administration eviction moratorium
CNN
Original Post 8/12/21
I've only seen threads about eviction bans in general but nothing about the specific politics behind the CDC renewal so here it goes:
-Last year at the beginning of the COVID pandemic, Trump did an executive order calling for a ban on evictions for a few months
-Near the time it was about to end, the CDC extended the eviction ban
-This went through the courts about if the CDC had the authority to do this. The circuit court ruled no and it went to SCOTUS.
-The 5-4 ruling allowed the eviction ban to stay in place but had a Kavanaugh concurrence stating the CDC technically doesn't have the authority but since there was only a few weeks left on the order, it will remain in place until July 31st. He stated congressional approval would be needed for the eviction ban to be extended.
-Though Pelosi and the White House wanted action on this, certain house democrats opposed an extension, leaving the house with not enough votes to act.
-With the deadline approaching, Biden chose to extend the order, despite admitting he the advice he received from the majority of Constitutional scholars was that the extension would be unconstitutional. He did change the ban to only "experiencing substantial and high levels of community transmission" so the order is somewhat narrower.
The authority for the CDC's eviction ban is argued under this law, giving them a broad authority in preventing the transmission of a communicable disease.
The "other measures" is the piece that was being used to enact the bans.
The extension likely will be struck down now by SCOTUS, with either Kavanaugh swinging to the other side now or possibly more Justices joining as the extension defied a SCOTUS ruling. What's annoying here to me is the courts are already being politicized enough by the media. As president, acting in a way that pushes responsibility back to the courts while also defying them isn't good for the system. I don't know how the next ruling will be portrayed but I'm not a fan of the executive stretching how far they can stretch or manipulate their authority even if they think it would stand up in the long term. There's some governors doing this as well and it really forces the courts to have to step in on more issues than would normally be needed if those in the office would show some restraint on the limits of their power. This isn't necessarily new in the executive branch. Some of the recent examples being rehashed was Trump diverting military funds to a border wall or Obama's decision on DACA. This is just another chapter but I think a very bad one because it not only defies the courts but also Congress as they failed to act.
Further Reading
Biden’s Illegal, Wrongheaded Eviction Ban by Wall Street Journal Editorial Board
Protecting public health from judicial arrogance by Laurence Tribe (Boston Globe)
Biden's Rebuff to Supreme Court on Eviction Ban Will Backfire by Noah Feldman (Bloomberg)
The Supreme Court Might Strike Down Biden’s Eviction Ban. It Shouldn’t. by Adam Winkler (The New York Times)
What are your thoughts? Does the CDC have the authority to have something as vast as an eviction ban? Were the courts overstepping in saying they don't? Was Biden overstepping in extending the ban despite the SCOTUS ruling?
Also, if I have missing parts the timeline here, feel free to let me know. Seems like its been a year long story.
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