Democrats think Biden 'dropped the ball' on eviction moratorium

(Image credit: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

published 2 August 2021

The scramble to extend the pandemic-related federal eviction moratorium has led to some rare dysfunction between the White House and congressional Democrats, Axios reports.

Both sides have signaled that the other is to blame for allowing the moratorium to expire on Saturday night, and they're each calling on the other to take action (the White House wants Congress to pass legislation, Congress wants President Biden to issue an executive order). Progressive lawmakers like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) have been fairly vocal about their frustrations with the White House, but Axios notes that the feeling extends to more moderate corners of the party, as well.

"They dropped the ball," a senior Democratic aide told Axios, referring to the Biden administration, which claims Biden's hands are tied on the matter because of a recent Supreme Court ruling. But the ruling was long enough go that Biden could have asked Congress to draft legislation before last Thursday, the aide told Axios. "Throwing this to Congress on a Thursday before the House is leaving... if this legal opinion was so clear, why didn't they call on Congress to do this when the Supreme Court ruled? That's sort of the inexplicable aspect to this," the aide said. Read more at Axios.

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.

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