President Joe Biden was tested by liberal Democrats when they seized on his White House’s apparent indecision regarding the federal eviction moratorium, exposing his administration’s weakness when it comes to vocal far-left critics in the process.
Biden rankled liberal Democrats by calling on Congress to renew the national eviction moratorium three days before it was due to expire. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention eventually issued a new 60-day ban covering parts of the country struggling to contain the delta variant of COVID-19, the progressive wing and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi notching political wins along the way.
Missouri Rep. Cori Bush cornered Biden into an untenable position with her highly publicized sleep-in on the steps of the Capitol, according to Republican strategist Doug Heye. The White House had rightly urged Congress to extend the moratorium after the Supreme Court ruled lawmakers were required to consider prolonging the old ban. Still, Biden conceded ground, Heye told the Washington Examiner.
“Given the concerns that they have with the left part of their base, Biden caved and did so saying, ‘Yeah, I’m probably not allowed to do so,'” he said. “If it’s not upheld, then there will rightfully be egg on Biden’s face.”
Biden retracted most of his doubts about whether the new moratorium would withstand legal challenges after property managers and real estate agents supported by the National Association of Realtors objected to it in a Washington federal court. But that has not stopped his White House from being posed with political problems, according to Heye.
Biden questioning the legality of his administration’s own moratorium decision, for instance, “comes at a potential cost for Democrats,” Heye contended.
“For four years they’ve been, and I’ve usually agreed with them, cautioning the country about a president doing things in an unconstitutional manner,” he said. “And so here we are, seven months into Biden’s presidency, and he’s doing something that he’s readily admitting may not be constitutional. That’s not a good posture to be in.”
Biden appeared more confident in his new moratorium’s legal standing after consulting with constitutional lawyers such as Harvard University’s Laurence Tribe. But even if the ban fails to meet legal muster, it would have facilitated extra time for state and local governments to distribute $46.5 billion in federal funds already allocated for pandemic-related rent assistance, he told reporters.
“I can’t guarantee the court won’t rule that we don’t have the authority,” he said.
It is unclear why there was a one-month delay between the Supreme Court ruling and Biden publicly pushing Congress to extend the moratorium. The White House claims aides had been talking with lawmakers “for some time about this.” Meanwhile, New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who sits on the House Financial Services Committee, insists she and her colleagues “weren’t getting any commitment on advocacy for an extension.”
For Heye, the drama was further evidence that Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell are the sharpest political operatives in Washington.
“They’re effective, and they get things done or don’t make mistakes,” he said. “Even though the ball should have been in Pelosi’s court, she didn’t acknowledge it, and the Biden White House blinked.”
Fellow Republican strategist Alex Vogel agreed that liberal Democrats had boxed Biden in over the moratorium. And the dynamic complicates a precarious moment for the White House as COVID-19’s resurgence has put “the administration on the back foot,” Vogel explained.
“The last thing they needed was vulnerability on their left flank right now,” he said. “Biden would probably be just as happy if the court strikes down the new eviction moratorium — it would allow him to tell progressives to back off.”
“New presidents have a limited window to get Congress to bend to their will — the reemergence of COVID as a crisis effectively ends that honeymoon, and very little of the Biden agenda has been moved yet,” Vogel added.
Heye similarly discouraged Republicans from wading too deeply into the moratorium controversy as Democrats snipe at one another. For example, days after being lauded by congressional leadership, Democrats had to distance themselves from Bush once more over comments she made about defunding the police.
“If Democrats are actually in disarray, let them be there,” Heye said.
