PBS' Yamiche Alcindor lobbies Biden to extend eviction moratorium despite Supreme Court ruling

PBS journalist Yamiche Alcindor called for the Biden administration to unilaterally extend the eviction moratorium against fears of the Supreme Court reversing their decision.

On Monday, White House American Rescue Plan coordinator Gene Sperling held a press briefing to address the recent expiration of the federal eviction moratorium. Several reporters posed questions to Sperling regarding President Joe Biden’s stance and plans regarding any extensions in the wake of the Delta coronavirus variant.

Sperling ultimately argued that the president is "looking at every possible authority we can do" within legal merits, but Alcindor appeared to suggest Biden act unilaterally regardless of the Supreme Court’s ruling later.

"Why not force the Supreme Court to make the decision, and is the decision to not go to the Supreme Court, does it have anything to do with fears that the Supreme Court might strike down the administration’s broad use of public health laws for other policies?" Alcindor asked.

BIDEN SOUGHT NEW EVICTION MORATORIUM BUT LACKED LEGAL AUTHORITY: WHITE HOUSE 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) previously enacted an eviction moratorium that banned landlords from evicting tenants who fell behind on rent. While this moratorium has been extended multiple times, the Supreme Court, from a June opinion written by Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, ruled that Congress rather than the president holds the power to extend the ban should it continue.

The moratorium then officially expired at the end of July when Congress failed to reach enough votes in either the House or the Senate to continue.

Despite this, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi continued to call on the CDC and the White House to extend the moratorium despite the opinion from the Supreme Court. In addition, various members of Congress including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. and Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., called out both Congress and the White House for their supposed inaction regarding evictions.

"We’re still here. We have to reconvene the House and vote to reinstate the eviction moratorium to put an end to the eviction emergency. 11 million lives and livelihoods are on the line," Bush tweeted on Sunday.

"The House and House leadership had the opportunity to vote to extend the moratorium, and there was frankly a handful of conservative Democrats in the House who threatened to get on planes rather than hold this vote," Ocasio-Cortez responded on Sunday. "We have to really just call a spade a spade. We cannot, in good faith, blame the Republican Party when House Democrats have the majority." 

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Bush also took part in an outdoor protest against Congress and the White House for their perceived lack of action. For now, the House of Representatives is scheduled to be out of session for most of the month.

With this question, Alcindor appeared to join this growing list of people requesting the Biden administration to ignore a Supreme Court ruling and bypass Congress. Alcindor has a history of mixing her liberal sympathies into her reporting.