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THE BIG DEAL—Biden, Pelosi struggle with end of eviction ban: President Biden and congressional Democrats are locked in a stalemate over who bears responsibility for extending the pandemic-related federal eviction ban that lapsed Sunday.
Millions of Americans are facing homelessness after a push to extend the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) eviction ban collapsed Friday in a mess of Democratic finger-pointing.
- After failing to rally enough House Democrats behind a bill to extend the CDC eviction ban, Pelosi and fellow caucus leaders have ramped up pressure on Biden to renew protections amid surging cases.
- But Biden administration officials maintained Monday that the CDC could not act without Congress bolstering its authority, if only for a temporary solution.
“The CDC director and her team have been unable to find legal authority, even for a more targeted eviction moratorium, that would focus just on counties with higher rates of COVID spread,” said Gene Sperling, Biden’s economic recovery czar, during a White House briefing Monday.
The background: On June 29, the Supreme Court narrowly upheld the ban, but warned that another extension of it would likely get struck down without clear and specific justification from Congress. In the month since that warning, neither the White House nor Congress took action to bolster the CDC’s eviction ban, even as the delta variant of COVID-19 caused cases to skyrocket, until Biden urged lawmakers Thursday to extend the moratorium two days before it expired.
“It really didn’t need to be a mad scramble the way that it has been in Congress,” said Lindsay Wiley, a law professor and director of the health law and policy program at American University.
LEADING THE DAY
Trump attorney says he will fight release of tax returns: An attorney for former President Trump says he will fight to block the release of his tax returns days after the Department of Justice ordered them turned over to the Democratic-led House Ways and Means Committee.
“There is no evidence of any wrongdoing here and I object to the release of the returns not only on behalf of my client but on behalf of all future holders of the office of the president of the United States,” Ronald Fischetti, a lawyer for Trump, told The Wall Street Journal.
In case you missed it: In a memo from the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, acting Assistant Attorney General Dawn Johnsen on Friday said the Treasury Department is required to defer to the congressional committee.
If the panel receives Trump’s tax returns, it can examine the documents in a closed session. It could then vote to release a report to the full House, making some or all of the documents public.
The Hill’s Rebecca Beitsch has more here.
McConnell warns Democrats against ‘artificial timeline’ for infrastructure deal: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) sent a warning shot on Monday over the bipartisan infrastructure deal, saying that Democrats shouldn’t create an “artificial timeline” and that Republicans want to offer potential changes.
McConnell, speaking from the Senate floor, called the roughly $1 trillion bipartisan deal a “good and important jumping-off point” but that it shouldn’t be the Senate’s “last word.”
“Senators on both sides expect and deserve opportunities to have a say and put their own state’s imprints on this major bill,” he added.
The context: McConnell’s comments come after the bipartisan group finalized its bill on Sunday night. The bill is substantially smaller than President Biden’s plan, but includes funds for things like roads, bridges, transit, water and broadband.
- Because the bill took weeks to draft, Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and some of the GOP negotiators want to pass it this week, potentially before a sizable number of senators are expected to go to a service on Friday for the late Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.).
- But McConnell, speaking after Schumer, responded that the Senate’s debate “must not be choked off by an artificial timeline that our Democratic colleagues may have penciled out for political purposes.”
The Hill’s Jordain Carney has the latest here.
Read more on the push for an infrastructure bill:
- Senators introduce bipartisan infrastructure bill in rare Sunday session
- Schumer: Democrats ‘on track’ to pass bipartisan deal, $3.5T budget
- Optimism grows that infrastructure deal will get to Biden’s desk
GOOD TO KNOW:
- The bipartisan infrastructure bill released late Sunday would speed up the expiration date of a tax credit designed to help businesses retain employees during the coronavirus pandemic.
- The Biden administration has named a new watchdog chief for the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) following the departure of the agency’s embattled inspector general.
- Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will brief House Democrats on Tuesday about the efforts to distribute $46.5 billion in rental assistance to millions of Americans who are facing eviction.
- The legal limit on how much debt the U.S. government can owe was reimposed Sunday, kicking off a high-stakes battle over federal spending with dire implications for global financial markets.
ODDS AND ENDS
- The election at an Amazon warehouse in Alabama to join the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union should be held again, a National Labor Relations Board hearing officer recommended.
- The White House on Monday sent polling data to congressional Democrats touting the popularity of the bipartisan infrastructure deal, according to a memo obtained by The Hill.