HUD employees say the agency has decimated the Office of Fair Housing, reducing staff by 70 percent, and forced a gag order that prevents them from effectively enforcing fair housing and civil rights laws.
In documents sent to Senator Elizabeth Warren, staff from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) say the agency is failing to enforce fair housing and civil rights laws.
“The whistleblowers allege in documents they sent to Warren that HUD leadership told Office of Fair Housing staff that fair housing is “not a priority” of the Trump administration, which has reduced the office’s workforce nearly 70% since January,” explains Ryan Kushner in Smart Cities Dive.
The OFH has been under a gag order that prohibits them from communicating with other government agencies and parties in civil rights complains, hampering their work. The whistleblowers also allege that HUD has “inappropriately” closed or stopped around 115 housing discrimination cases.
“Earlier this month, HUD implemented last-minute criteria for $75 million in housing grants that favored applicants that aligned with the administration’s political priorities, including local cooperation with immigration enforcement, and disfavored applicants in communities that have inclusive policies for transgender people.” Those criteria are suspended due to a lawsuit.
Read the full story: Whistleblowers accuse HUD of ‘systematically undermining’ fair housing laws
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