Biden
Rep. Cori Bush Declares Victory as Biden Agrees to 60-day Extended Eviction Moratorium
With the ongoing COVID pandemic, President Joe Biden plans to issue a limited, 60-day extension, on the federal eviction moratorium – and many progressive lawmakers, including Reps. Cori Bush and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, are celebrating the news.
Reps. Bush (D-Mo.) and Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) applauded the Biden administration for this motion on Tuesday when it added an extension to the moratorium that expired on Saturday. It renewed the said moratorium in places with a high rate of COVID-19 transmission, per the hill. However, the two representatives also patted themselves on the back for their role in the update. Both Bush and Ocasio-Cortez are staunch advocates of the moratorium. They made efforts to push the administration to act on it despite several White House officials arguing that they do not have the authority to do so without Congress.
Progressives, Including Cori Bush and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Believe Moratorium Should Not Expire in the Middle of the COVID Pandemic
Bush expressed her gratitude to other lawmakers who supported her as she rallied for a moratorium. These include Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). Schumer, however, credited the progressive lawmakers for the victory.
Apart from Bush and Ocasio-Cortez, the core group of progressive lawmakers saying the moratorium should not expire in the middle of a pandemic also included Reps. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.) and Mondaire Jones (D-N.Y.). Ocasio-Cortez argued that the current administration needed to push this issue up to the Supreme Court. She said the issue at hand is worthy of a legal showdown as it would give Congress some time to act.
While talking about the limited extension, the president foreshadowed the game plan laid out by Ocasio-Cortez. He said he remains uncertain on whether a fresh moratorium will “pass constitutional muster,” but also mentioned he expects that it would buy some time for rent relief to roll out during its litigation.
However, on Tuesday, the spotlight was mainly on Bush instead of the possible legal battle that may take place in the future. However, for her part, Bush stated that she’s “grateful.”
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