The U.S. Supreme Court is being asked to lift the Biden administration’s moratorium on evictions in parts of the country hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, two months after the justices kept an earlier ban in place.
In a filing Friday, groups led by the Alabama Association of Realtors say the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention exceeded its authority in imposing the moratorium.
The court requested a response to the filing by noon EDT Monday.
There’s reason to think the ban is on shakier ground this time. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who was the deciding vote in the 5-4 win for the government on June 29, explained that his approach was motivated by the fact that the moratorium was scheduled to end July 31.
“In my view, clear and specific congressional authorization (via new legislation) would be necessary for the CDC to extend the moratorium past July 31,” Kavanaugh wrote.
That didn’t happen. Under pressure from progressives, the Biden administration announced a new temporary ban set to expire Oct. 3 that applies to areas with substantial numbers of COVID-19 cases.
The landlords and real estate groups are appealing from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, after that appeals court and a Washington district court rejected their latest efforts to end the moratorium.
Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, and Amy Coney Barrett voted against the ban in June. Only Kavanaugh explained his vote.
The case is Alabama Association of Realtors et al. v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services et al., U.S., No. 21A23.
