The Biden administration appears to be dead set on defying a recent ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court.
The high court has said no to the president's attempt to extend the federal eviction moratorium. In August, the Supreme Court said an extension must have approval by Congress. However, last Friday U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland praised a group of lawyers for helping people stay in their homes, even while they're not paying rent. Charles Blain, president of Urban Reform, says there's no reason why the government should be siding with tenants at the expense of landlords.
“The problem is that Democrats are looking at this as though every landlord is this multinational corporation that can eat all of this debt. Well, that’s just not the case,” Blain said.
He adds mom-and-pop landlords and young people renting out rooms continue to suffer. In some cases, losing out on tens of thousands of dollars over the past two years.
“These people are not incredibly wealthy, and they still have to pay the bills, the expenses that they have, the mortgages,” Blain explained. “They may be dealing with a loss of income because of the pandemic.”
Conservatives accuse the White House of trying to circumvent the Supreme Court.