US judge accuses Biden administration of ‘gainsmanship’ by freezing eviction orders
A US federal judge, appointed by former President Donald Trump, has pointed the finger at the administration of President Joe Biden over engaging in “gainsmanship” by freezing eviction orders.
District Judge Dabney Friedrich also questioned how the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was legally capable of imposing an eviction moratorium during a 30-minute hearing in Washington, DC.
“Given that this order is almost identical to the CDC’s earlier order, at least the effect of it, it’s really hard in light of the Supreme Court's decision, and the 6th Circuit’s decision, in light of statements the administration has made both before and after the Supreme Court decision, to conclude that there's not a degree of gamesmanship going on,” Friedrich said.
The judge sounded skeptical about the fate of the Biden administration’s prohibition of an end to the ban on evictions in America during the Covid-19 pandemic.
She added that the scope and legal basis of the new order "is almost identical to the CDC's earlier order, as is the effect of it.”
The latest CDC ban on evictions by landlords covers only counties with a high level of Covid-19 transmission unlike the prior one, which was nationwide, triggering a debate about the CDC’s authority to do so.
"Isn't it the case that it still covers 85 percent of the counties in the US?” Judge Friedrich asked. "Isn't that effectively a nationwide moratorium?"
Only the US Congress has the power to take such an action, argued Washington lawyer Brett Shumate in defense of the landlords.
"The CDC and the White House caved to political pressure," he said.
Originally enacted in September, the CDC measure is supposedly meant to protect tenants who state under penalty of perjury that they are unable to pay rent and would face overcrowded conditions if evicted.
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