The US Supreme Court on Thursday (26) ended a moratorium that prevents tenant evictions imposed by Joe Biden’s management. This is the Democrat’s second loss in court this week.
The measure was imposed in September last year by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and criminalized evictions during the Covid-19 pandemic. Initially, it was due to expire on July 31. Close to the date, Biden appealed to Congress for the ban to be extended, but, faced with inaction from the legislature, he ordered a similar moratorium on August 3, valid until October 3.
The case reached the Supreme Court after judges responded to a request from opponents to suspend the measure. According to them, the law that regulates the CDC would not allow the agency to implement the current ban. By 6 votes to 3, the court accepted the argument.
Recall that the tribunal is made up of nine judges and today has a conservative bias – three of them were appointed by Republican Donald Trump, Biden’s predecessor.
“It is very hard to believe that this law gives the CDC the full authority it claims,” said the court’s opinion, which was unsigned. “If a federally-imposed moratorium on evictions is to continue, Congress must specifically authorize it.”
In June, the court had already ruled on the moratorium, declaring that, to have more legal certainty, the measure must pass through Congress, and not be imposed unilaterally by the executive.
The White House on Thursday night said it was disappointed with the decision and said it would contact city halls, states and the real estate market to avoid a wave of evictions.
Estimates indicate that up to 7.4 million people, in 2.8 million households, are behind on their rent. According to an official poll, 3.2 million believe they are at risk of deportation in the next two months.
In addition to the two Supreme Court losses, Biden faces a wave of criticism for the unfolding crisis in Afghanistan. On Thursday, the scenes of chaos that were accumulating in the vicinity of Kabul airport, affecting the image of the operation to withdraw US troops from the country, reached a new level, with two explosions.
The attack, claimed by the Afghan branch of the Islamic State terrorist group, killed at least 73 people, including 13 American soldiers.