The already diminished Department of Housing and Urban Development office that enforces fair housing laws was slashed again in recent layoffs, and housing policy experts warn the cuts could make it next to impossible for the office to fulfill its mission of combating housing discrimination.
“HUD is actively undermining its own ability to enforce fair housing laws,” said Kim Johnson, senior director of policy at the National Low Income Housing Coalition. “And it’s not a coincidence that the administration is doing this. It is like a continuation of a lot of things that we know the administration has prioritized.”
The latest layoffs at HUD were concentrated at the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, where 170 people were issued reduction-in-force notices, at least 149 of them within regional offices.