The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has extended the eviction moratorium for 60 days, a move that President Joe Biden admitted may be unconstitutional and one that risks being challenged in court.

CDC director Rochelle Walensky signed a new order on Tuesday that extends the eviction moratorium until October 3, and it would temporarily halt evictions in places that "experience substantial and high levels" of COVID transmissions.

Walensky said the order would keep people in their homes and out of congregate areas where COVID-19 spreads. She noted that the evictions of tenants for failure to pay rent could be detrimental to public health control measures to slow the spread of COVID.

She added that "such mass evictions and the attendant public health consequences" would be difficult to reverse. The CDC said it would cover about 90 percent of renters in the country.

According to the CDC, the order would also provide more time in increasing vaccination rates and emphasized that it would be an "effective public health measure." The CDC also cited the slow pace of local governments in disbursing housing aid in justifying the new moratorium.

RELATED ARTICLE: Pres. Joe Biden's Administration, Congress Fail to Extend Eviction Moratorium

Joe Biden on CDC's New Eviction Moratorium

But on Tuesday, the president said the order was not likely to pass "constitutional muster," New York Post reported.

Joe Biden noted that he had spoken to several constitutional scholars to determine if the new moratorium could withstand lawsuits about its constitutionality and whether the Supreme Court would approve the measure.

"The bulk of the constitutional scholarship says that it's not likely to pass constitutional muster... But there are several key scholars who think that it may and it's worth the effort," the president told reporters at the White House.

Even if it gets challenged in court, Joe Biden added that the order would "probably give some additional time" for states and local governments to release federal funds to help renters and homeowners.

The distribution of rental assistance that Congress allocated in December and March has been slow. Only $3 billion of the $47 billion Emergency Rental Assistance program was disbursed to assist the American people.

In a statement, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said it was a day of "extraordinary relief" after the CDC announced the extension of the eviction moratorium.

Pelosi noted that the imminent fear of eviction and being put out on the street were gone for countless families across the country.

Eviction Moratorium Lapsed

The nationwide moratorium on residential evictions has expired on July 31. The White House earlier said it could not extend the eviction ban and urged Congress to do it. However, the House Democrats failed to collect the votes to prevent its lapse.

Last month, when the Supreme Court allowed a one-month extension of the eviction moratorium, Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh warned that any further extensions would have to go through Congress. The high court would likely have to issue a new ruling on the new order of the CDC.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki earlier said that Joe Biden had encouraged the CDC to extend the eviction moratorium by using executive action. But in reply, Walensky noted that the CDC ​has​ yet to find legal authority for a new eviction moratorium​.

READ MORE: Pres. Joe Biden Shifts Burden to States to Help Renters With COVID Funds as White House Scrambles to Extend Eviction Moratorium

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Written by: Jess Smith

WATCH: Democrats Get CDC to Extend Eviction Moratorium - From CNBC Television