The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ordered landlords to temporarily evict tenants who cannot pay their rent during the outbreak, but the order was ruled unconstitutional by a Texas federal judge on the 25th.
Baker, a federal district judge appointed by former President Trump, ruled against landlords and real estate managers who said the CDC’s order to delay evictions exceeded the federal government’s constitutional authority. In his ruling, Baker wrote, “While the New Crest Pneumonia (CCR virus) Epidemic continues to ravage the United States, it is still subject to the Constitution.”
The CDC order, originally issued by Trump last September, prohibits homeowners from evicting tenants who cannot pay their rent or cannot find affordable housing. The protection was extended by Congress, and after President Biden took office, the ban was temporarily extended until the end of March by the CDC’s new director, Rochelle Walensky.
The plaintiffs filed a lawsuit in October last year against the U.S. government for not having the power to suspend evictions.
However, on the 25th, Baker found that Congress did not have the constitutional authority to grant the CDC the power to prohibit landlords from evicting tenants; he further stated that the order was under state law and had jeopardized the rights of landlords. The decision was endorsed by the conservative groups involved in the lawsuit.
Kimberly Hermann, an attorney with the Southeastern Legal Foundation, which represented the plaintiffs, said, “The CDC interfered with private property rights because of the new crown epidemic, and today’s decision makes a statement to the Biden Administration that the Constitution can limit government power. “
Justice Department attorneys representing the federal government have not yet commented. Legal experts expect the case to be appealed to the federal Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in Texas.
In Harris County, the most populous county in Texas, more than 13,000 eviction cases have still arisen since the order was issued, according to January Advisors, a local research agency.
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