Federal judge rules national eviction moratorium exceeds the CDC's authority

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday ruled that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention overstepped its legal authority by issuing a nationwide eviction moratorium, a ruling that could affect millions of struggling Americans.

“The Department of Justice respectfully disagrees with today’s decision of the district court,” Brian M. Boynton, acting assistant attorney general for the department’s civil division, said in a statement. “In the department’s view, that decision conflicts with the text of the statute, Congress’s ratification of the moratorium, and the rulings of other courts.”

White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters during her daily news briefing that the DOJ was "reviewing" the latest decision but that the moratorium had been "a huge benefit" for struggling renters.

The case was brought by the Alabama Association of Realtors, which argued that the CDC doesn't have the power to tell landlords they can't evict people during a pandemic. The judge agreed.

"It is the role of the political branches, and not the courts, to assess the merits of policy measures designed to combat the spread of disease, even during a global pandemic," Judge Dabney Friedrich of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia wrote in her ruling.

Photo : Vladimir Gomez