Speaking to reporters during the daily briefing at the White House Wednesday, Press Secretary Jen Psaki doubled down on President Joe Biden's illegal CDC directive barring evictions for the next 60-days.
Just after the White House was claiming that extending the eviction moratorium was unconstitutional, Jen Psaki now says that Biden "would not have supported moving forward with any action where he didn't feel there was legal standing and legal support." pic.twitter.com/cbgjA04NUr
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) August 4, 2021
During a back and forth with reporters Tuesday evening, Biden admitted the rule was likely unconstitutional and issued it anyway.
"It's not likely to pass constitutional muster," Biden said.
.@POTUS on targeted eviction moratorium: "The courts already ruled on the present eviction moratorium... I asked the CDC to go back and consider other options that may be available. You're going to hear from them what those other options are." https://t.co/83m7FGb0vD pic.twitter.com/4TB7k4SaCT
— The Hill (@thehill) August 4, 2021
When asked about Biden defying the U.S. Constitution and the Supreme Court, Psaki scoffed at the idea Americans are paying attention to the legality of the mandate.
FANTASTIC question from @CBSNewsRadio's @StevenPortnoy about the legality of extending the eviction moratorium: "What's the White House's message, then, to Americans who...are now disappointed the President is signaling that he doesn't respect the rule of law." pic.twitter.com/ymci5wkWVl
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) August 4, 2021
The CDC directive, which wasn't approved by Congress, threatens harsh penalties – including fines up to $250,000 – against private property owners whose tenants won't pay rent.
The Supreme Court struck down the original CDC eviction moratorium back in June and Democrats, who control Congress, failed to renew it through legislation before its expiration over the weekend.
Meanwhile, private property owners are being pushed into bankruptcy. From the NYT:
A Landlord Says Her Tenants Are Terrorizing Her. She Can’t Evict Them.
A landlord in Queens says her tenants curse and spit at her and owe more than $23,000 in rent. But an eviction moratorium keeps them from being kicked out.
The first-floor tenants have not paid rent in 15 months, bang on the ceiling below her bed at all hours for no apparent reason and yell, curse and spit at her, Ms. Mangal said. A tenant in the basement apartment also stopped paying rent, keyed Ms. Mangal’s car and dumped packages meant for her by the garbage. After Ms. Mangal got an order of protection and then a warrant for the tenant’s arrest, the woman and her daughter moved out.
All told, Ms. Mangal — who has captured many of her tenants’ actions on surveillance video — has not only lost sleep from the tensions inside her two-story home but also $36,600 in rental income. “It’s been really horrendous,” she said. “What am I supposed to do — live like this?”