TX Federal Judge Rules That National Eviction Moratorium is Unconstitutional | Paper Source Online
A federal judge has ruled that the national moratorium on evictions instituted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is unconstitutional.
U.S. District Judge John Barker did not issue an injunction; however, the Donald Trump appointee said he expected the CDC to respect his ruling.
“The federal government cannot say that it has ever before invoked its power over interstate commerce to impose a residential eviction moratorium. It did not do so during the deadly Spanish Flu pandemic. Nor did it invoke such a power during the exigencies of the Great Depression. The federal government has not claimed such a power at any point during our Nation’s history until last year.”
— U.S. District Judge John Barker
While the coronavirus pandemic persists, he contended, “so does the Constitution.”
Landlords in Texas filed the lawsuit against the CDC and the Department of Health and Human Services weeks after the Trump administration issued the Eviction Moratorium Order in September. The CDC said that “COVID-19 presents a historic threat to public health,” and the order lasted through December 31. It was later extended by President Joe Biden‘s administration through March 2021.
Barker sided with the landlords and property owners, saying the national moratorium encroached on states’ rights.
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