Biden to issue targeted eviction moratorium

The Biden administration will announce Tuesday a targeted eviction moratorium after a wide-ranging federal ban expired over the weekend, two sources familiar with the plans confirmed to The Hill.

The new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will ban evictions in counties with high rates of COVID-19 transmission, the sources said, aligning with areas where the CDC recommends even vaccinated residents wear masks while indoors.

The new moratorium was expected to be publicly released Tuesday afternoon. It is expected to last for 60 days, according to a congressional source familiar with the plan.

Legal challenges: Biden was asked multiple times about the impending announcement at a news conference on Tuesday afternoon. He insisted he did not want to get ahead of the CDC, but seemed to acknowledge the new order is likely to face legal challenges.

“Whether that option will pass constitutional measure with this administration, I can’t tell you. I don’t know,” Biden said. “There are a few scholars who say it will, and others who say it’s not likely to. But, at a minimum, by the time it gets litigated it will probably give some additional time while we’re getting that $45 billion out to people who are in fact behind in the rent and don’t have the money.”