House Progressives Protest Evictions by Camping Outside Capitol

A handful of House Progressives camped outside the U.S. Capitol on Friday night to protest the expiration of the federal eviction moratorium, according to The Hill.

Democratic Reps. Cori Bush of Missouri, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota said the House left before garnering enough votes to extend the moratorium, which ends this Sunday.

Bush tweeted that many of her "Democratic colleagues chose to go on vacation early today rather than staying to vote to keep people in their homes. I'll be sleeping outside the Capitol tonight. We've still got work to do."

"We are here!" Omar tweeted, "so many people are at risk of homelessness in our district and many have already experienced it. We are out here for them."

The protest came after a last-ditch effort to extend the eviction moratorium failed.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer tried to pass a bill that would extend the eviction ban to October 18, but efforts fell short. Part of the legislation's failure was due to Democrats failing to unite on how to proceed in the one-day notice they were given by the Biden administration.

Biden reportedly urged Congress to extend the moratorium citing that his executive powers to do so had been exhausted due to a Supreme Court ruling.

Bush, who had experienced homelessness before, told reporters that extending the eviction moratorium is "the least" Congress could do.

 "Congress is at recess," Bush said. "How do we do vacation when we know our people are about to be on the street?"

"Housing is a basic necessity," she added. "How dare we not make sure our people have it? That's the least we can do is make sure your basic needs are met."

• With Evictions Looming, Congress Strains to Extend Ban
• Cities Try to Head Off Eviction Wave as Federal Ban Expires