Democrats fall short of votes for extending eviction ban
By Cristina Marcos,Scott Wong and Mike Lillis - 07/30/21 04:00 PM EDT
House Democratic leaders failed to round up enough votes Friday to pass legislation extending the federal ban on evictions just two days before it is set to expire.
Two Democratic lawmakers said that a possible House floor vote on Friday would ultimately be scrapped after leadership struggled all day to round up enough support.
“We don’t have the votes,” a Democratic aide said.
But when Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was asked if she had pulled the bill, she said, “No.”
Democrats were caught by surprise the day before when President Biden urged Congress to extend the eviction ban, which has been in place since September.
Biden insisted that his administration no longer has the authority to unilaterally extend the moratorium due to a Supreme Court ruling last month.
That left House Democratic leaders scrambling to round up enough votes in their own caucus, given the widespread opposition from Republicans to extending the moratorium again.
Even if House Democrats had passed a bill, it would have all but certainly failed in the Senate due to widespread opposition from Republicans.
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https://thehill.com/homenews/house/565699-house-democrats-scrap-vote-on-bill-to-extend-eviction-ban
