Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/20pdf/21a23_ap6c.pdf
Page Number: 1.0

Cite as:  594 U. S. ____ (2021) 

1 

Per Curiam 

SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES 

_________________ 

No. 21A23 
_________________ 

ALABAMA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS, ET AL. v. 
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND  
HUMAN SERVICES, ET AL. 

ON APPLICATION TO VACATE STAY 

[August 26, 2021]

 PER CURIAM. 
The Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Pre-
vention  (CDC)  has  imposed  a  nationwide  moratorium  on
evictions of any tenants who live in a county that is experi-
encing  substantial  or  high  levels  of  COVID–19  transmis-
sion and who make certain declarations of financial need. 
86  Fed.  Reg.  43244  (2021).  The  Alabama  Association  of 
Realtors (along with other plaintiffs) obtained a judgment
from the U. S. District  Court for the District of Columbia 
vacating the moratorium on the ground that it is unlawful.
But the District Court stayed its judgment while the Gov-
ernment pursued an appeal.  We vacate that stay, render-
ing the judgment enforceable.  The District Court produced
a  comprehensive  opinion  concluding  that  the  statute  on 
which  the  CDC  relies  does  not  grant  it  the  authority  it 
claims.  The case has been thoroughly briefed before us— 
twice.  And careful review of that record makes clear that 
the applicants are virtually certain to succeed on the merits
of their argument that the CDC has exceeded its authority.
It would be one thing if Congress had specifically author-
ized the action that the CDC has taken.  But that has not 
happened.  Instead,  the  CDC  has  imposed  a  nationwide 
moratorium on evictions in reliance on a decades-old stat-
ute that authorizes it to implement measures like fumiga-
tion and pest extermination.  It strains credulity to believe