As Americans reflect on the past year and how much power the federal government has taken for itself in the name of COVID-19, one of the most far-reaching power grabs came directly from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in the form of a nationwide eviction moratorium order.

The CDC invoked the federal government’s power over interstate commerce and pointed to COVID-19 as its reason for needing the eviction moratorium. But just like the many other regulations we have seen since March 2020, it turns out the pandemic had nothing to do with it. After SLF and TPPF filed suit, the federal government admitted as much and claimed to have the authority to suspend residential evictions for any reason, including its own views on “fairness.”

“The federal government only has those powers granted to it in the Constitution. Notably, the Constitution does not give the federal government the authority to interfere with private property rights or our clients’ access to the courts to exercise their rights under state law,” explains SLF general counsel, Kimberly Hermann.

If the federal government was correct and the Constitution gave it the power to base decisions on the vagaries of a subjective “fairness” standard, we would have no Constitution at all. Instead, we’d have a government that could (and would!) cancel anyone and their rights for any reason — a government that can suspend the rights to worship, assembly, and free speech in the name of “fairness.”

“The CDC nationwide eviction moratorium is an unconstitutional power grab plain and simple,” Hermann continues. “The federal agency is using Covid-19 to grab power that Congress cannot even grant it.” 

“The district court’s order declaring the CDC eviction moratorium unconstitutional serves as notice to the Biden administration that the Constitution limits government power,” said SLF executive director Todd Young. 

The federal courts will continue to be a primary bulwark against unconstitutional overreach by federal and state governments.  As SLF’s record shows, we have fought and won cases just like this for decades, and the current administration has shown no restraint.  We are preparing cases across the constitutional spectrum to defend against unrestrained government action.