The Trump administration is rolling back civil rights protections, defunding fair housing enforcement, and reshaping how cities address discrimination, safety, and access to affordable housing.
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities summarized key actions by the administration including:
- Canceling grants for nonprofits that investigate housing discrimination, which handled three-quarters of complaints in 2024;
- Weakening the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) rule, reducing it to a check-the-box exercise without enforcement or accountability;
- Ending contracts with affordable housing technical assistance providers due to their diversity-focused approaches; and
- Rolling back Equal Access Rule protections for trans and nonbinary people experiencing homelessness.
Cities across the country are feeling the effects:
- In Chicago, HUD dropped two major civil rights cases:
- An environmental justice complaint, which found that city policies pushed polluting industries into minority neighborhoods; and
- An affordable housing complaint, which determined that aldermanic privilege perpetuates segregation by limiting development in white neighborhoods.
- In Washington, DC, President Trump signed an executive order directing HUD to investigate federally funded properties in DC for compliance with “crime-prevention and safety requirements of HUD agreements.”
- Violations should be reported to HUD Secretary Turner and then referred to the Attorney General, federal law enforcement authorities, and local police.
