Where’s the uproar about the erosion of democratic norms? The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board writes:
When Donald Trump took action that exceeded his authority, all of Washington erupted in protest. Yet that is exactly what President Biden did Tuesday, when his Administration reissued a nationwide eviction moratorium after the White House had argued at length that it lacked legal authority to do so. The Beltway response? Crickets.
“The bulk of the constitutional scholarship says that it’s not likely to pass constitutional muster,” Mr. Biden admitted Tuesday. That was only hours before the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued its renewed eviction ban. “But at a minimum,” Mr. Biden said, “by the time it gets litigated, it will probably give some additional time while we’re getting that $45 billion out to people who are, in fact, behind in the rent and don’t have the money.”
Many Presidents have overstepped their authority, but this is premeditated lawlessness. The government has been slow to distribute pandemic relief funds to renters. Now to buy time and silence Democratic critics, Mr. Biden has signed off on an order that he admits he can’t defend in good faith.
[The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board, "President Biden’s Lawless Eviction Ban,” The Wall Street Journal, August 4]
