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A federal judge yesterday threw out the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's nationwide moratorium on evictions, a setback for the millions of Americans who have fallen behind on rent payments during the coronavirus pandemic, Reuters reported. U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich said that while there was "no doubt" Congress intended to empower the CDC to combat COVID-19 through a range of measures such as quarantines, a moratorium on residential evictions was not among them. Friedrich cited the "plain language" of a law called the Public Health Service Act, which governs the federal response to the spread of communicable diseases, even while acknowledging that the pandemic is "a serious public health crisis that has presented unprecedented challenges for public health officials and the nation." The U.S. Justice Department said it is appealing, and will seek an emergency order to put the judge's decision on hold. Evictions "exacerbate the spread of COVID-19," and the moratorium "protects many renters who cannot make their monthly payments due to job loss or healthcare expenses," Brian Boynton, acting assistant attorney general for the department's civil division, said in a statement. The White House has estimated that one in five renters were delinquent on payments by January, while the CDC has said more than 4 million adults who were behind feared imminent eviction. Judge Friedrich's decision benefits the many landlords struggling to pay their own bills because they are unable to collect rent from tenants. The CDC moratorium began last September and was scheduled to lapse on June 30. Other courts have been divided over its legality, with some also finding the CDC exceeded its authority. Friedrich, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, was the first to formally block the eviction ban. At least 43 states and Washington, D.C., have also temporarily halted residential or business evictions, though the protections are far from uniform.

The Biden administration has tapped Richard Cordray, the former director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, to serve as the top official overseeing the federal government’s $1.6 trillion portfolio of student loans and array of financial aid programs, Politico reported. The selection of Cordray, who previously was attorney general of Ohio and ran unsuccessfully to be governor, is a major victory for progressives who have been calling on the Biden administration to take more aggressive action on student loans and for-profit colleges. Cordray’s appointment to lead the Education Department’s Office of Federal Student Aid was announced on Monday by Secretary Miguel Cardona, who praised his “strong track record as a dedicated public servant who can tackle big challenges and get results.”

States can seize third-round stimulus payments from those convicted of crimes in order to provide restitution for victims and their families, according to the Treasury Department, The Hill reported. “To the extent permitted by applicable state and local law, amounts paid in the third round of [economic impact payments] may be subject to garnishment by state governments, local governments, or private creditors, as well as pursuant to a court order (which may include fines related to a crime, administrative court fees, restitution, and other court-ordered debts),” a department official said in a letter to Sens. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) last month. Treasury's confirmation means law enforcement in the states can seize payments directed to individuals convicted of crimes and redirect them to cover debts or fines.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Acting Director Dave Uejio and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Acting Chairwoman Rebecca Kelly Slaughter sent notification letters yesterday to the nation’s largest apartment landlords, which collectively own more than 2 million units. The letters remind these landlords of federal protections in place to keep tenants in their homes and stop the spread of COVID-19. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has extended until June 30 a temporary moratorium on evictions for non-payment of rent, and the CFPB has issued an interim final rule, which takes effect today, establishing new notice requirements under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). The notification letters are the latest public action by the CFPB and the FTC in support of the CDC moratorium. The CDC order generally prohibits landlords from evicting tenants for non-payment of rent, if the tenant submits a written declaration that she is unable to afford full rental payments and would likely become homeless or have to move into a shared living setting if evicted. This prohibition applies to an agent or attorney acting on behalf of a landlord or owner of the residential property.

Black homeowners are having a harder time catching up on missed mortgage payments than other borrowers, new federal research shows, the Wall Street Journal reported. The share of Black homeowners in forbearance stood at about 11% in mid-April, more than double the overall rate and that of white borrowers, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. The rate for Hispanic homeowners hovered around 8.4%. The mortgage forbearance program laid out in the March 2020 stimulus bill was designed as a short-term solution, a way for homeowners to postpone payments on federally backed mortgages until the economy and consumers recovered. That is how the program has functioned for many. The share of homeowners in forbearance has decreased for eight straight weeks, to 4.49% as of mid-April, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Almost one in 10 homeowners signed up for forbearance at the height of the program’s use last June. But the overall improvement masks a slower recovery for Black borrowers. Between June 2020 and mid-April 2021, the share of Black homeowners in forbearance fell 35%, compared with a 43% drop overall, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. Asian, white and Hispanic borrowers saw improvement rates of between 45% and 53%.