UNCONSTITUTIONAL

Trump-Appointed Judge Shoots Down CDC’s Eviction Freeze

“Although the COVID-19 pandemic persists, so does the Constitution,” a federal judge in Texas wrote.

A Trump-appointed federal judge in Texas has ruled that a national eviction moratorium instituted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is unconstitutional. The ban on residential evictions was imposed by the CDC in September to curb the spread of the coronavirus, and it was extended for another two months once Joe Biden took office on Jan. 21. But a group of landlord and property owners challenged it in federal court in Tyler, Texas. Judge J. Campbell Barker ruled Thursday that the government’s power to regulate and legislate interstate commerce didn’t include the power to impose an eviction moratorium. “Although the COVID-19 pandemic persists, so does the Constitution,” he wrote.

Several cities and states have put in place their own eviction freezes or rent-assistance programs which won’t be affected by the federal ruling.