As Democrats Seethed, White House Struggled to Contain Eviction Fallout

The president was surprised by the reaction to the White House’s decision to ask Congress to extend an eviction ban, leading to a 36-hour scramble to keep people in their homes.

WASHINGTON — By the time President Biden returned from his weekend retreat at Camp David on Monday, his White House was engulfed in a political crisis as thousands of families faced the risk of eviction in the middle of a resurgent pandemic. Progressive Democrats were publicly assailing the administration for allowing an eviction ban to expire that past Saturday and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, unable to secure the votes to approve an extension, was demanding Mr. Biden find a different solution. The president, who had been largely focused on securing bipartisan support for his infrastructure bill, was caught off-guard by the ferocity of the reaction after a month in which Democratic lawmakers had been largely silent. His initial move to at least deflect blame by calling on Congress to extend the ban just two days before it expired hadn’t worked, and it infuriated Ms. Pelosi in the process.