The editorial board of the Washington Post this week bluntly stated that the most recent eviction moratorium issued by the Biden administration is essentially guaranteed to be struck down by the Supreme Court.
The Biden CDC issued the new ban this week after the prior version expired on July 31. This week’s moratorium comes after the Supreme Court in June ruled that any additional moratoriums would have to come from Congress, not the executive branch.
On Thursday, the Washington Post’s editorial board conceded that, in light of that ruling, Biden’s new order was “almost certainly illegal.”
“Under pressure from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi … and progressive Democrats, President Biden and the CDC may have muted accusations that they failed to stick up for desperate renters,” the board wrote. “The administration also may succeed in giving many Americans a short reprieve from eviction.”
“But perhaps not as long as advertised — because courts may strike it down before October — and at the expense of the rule of law,” the editorial continued.
Biden himself has acknowledged that the rule is unlikely to stand up to constitutional scrutiny and was passed in the hopes that it would buy Americans slightly more time before their rent was ultimately due.