Federal judge ruling that eviction moratorium is unconstitutional

US District Judge John Barker, who was appointed by then President Donald Trump to the Eastern Texas District Court, did not issue a preliminary injunction, but said he expects the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to respect his decision and withdraw the moratorium.

The order, citing the fact that “COVID-19 represents a historic threat to public health”, temporarily suspended residential evictions.

Barker sided with the owners, writing in his decision that “although the COVID-19 pandemic persists, the Constitution also persists”.

Barker also wrote in his decision that Congress also had no authority to grant the CDC the power to stop evictions across the country, and noted that the moratorium threatened to encroach on owners’ rights under state law.

The plaintiffs were represented by two conservative legal groups, the Texas Public Policy Foundation and the Southeastern Legal Foundation, who hailed the decision as a victory.

“The CDC tried to use COVID-19 as an opportunity to gain power and the court correctly corrected this blatant exaggeration,” said Robert Henneke, one of the lawyers in the case and general counsel for the Texas Public Policy Foundation, in a statement.

The Justice Department declined to comment when contacted by CNN.

It is not clear whether the Justice Department plans to appeal the case.

On January 20, the new director of the CDC, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, announced that the agency was extending the request until March 31.

This story was updated with additional information on Thursday.