The White House called on Congress to pass an emergency extension of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) eviction ban yesterday, three days before it expires, insisting the administration does not have the legal power to extend it after a recent Supreme Court ruling, The Hill reported. “Given the recent spread of the delta variant, including among those Americans both most likely to face evictions and lacking vaccinations, President Biden would have strongly supported a decision by the CDC to further extend this eviction moratorium to protect renters at this moment of heightened vulnerability,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement. "Unfortunately, the Supreme Court has made clear that this option is no longer available," she added. The Supreme Court last month left intact the CDC’s moratorium on evictions by a 5-4 vote, with Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh joined with the court’s three liberals. But Kavanaugh also said he agreed with a federal judge’s determination that the CDC had exceeded its authority in enacting the moratorium and argued that it could not be extended again unless by an act of Congress. For that reason, another extension could be reversed by the court if it is challenged by one of the moratorium's many opponents.
