For an agency long vulnerable to mission creep, it was only a matter of time. A federal judge finally reined in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, striking down its sweeping eviction moratorium on the grounds that it exceeds the CDCâs congressionally delegated authority. In a 20-page memorandum opinion released recently, U.S. District Judge Dabney L. Friedrich rejected the CDCâs power grab. Tossing tenants out of their homes may increase the risk of coronavirus transmission, she wrote, but that doesnât place the United Statesâ 11 million landlords under the public health agencyâs thumb. âIt is the role of the political branches, and not the courts, to assess the merits of policy measures designed to combat the spread of disease, even during a global pandemic,â Friedrich wrote. âThe question for the Court is a narrow one: Does the Public Health Service Act grant the CDC the legal authority to impose a nationwide eviction moratorium? It does not.â