Trump appointees roll back fair housing enforcement, internal records show

Internal documents and interviews reviewed by The New York Times reveal that Trump administration officials at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) have sharply limited enforcement of the Fair Housing Act — a cornerstone civil rights law designed to prevent discrimination in housing.

Emails, memos and testimony from current and former employees obtained by the Times describe an office where career staff have been sidelined, investigations dropped and lawyers reassigned.

‘Artificial, arbitrary and unnecessary’

One Trump appointee reportedly wrote in an email that decades of housing discrimination cases were “artificial, arbitrary and unnecessary.”

Another career supervisor who raised concerns about reassignments was fired six days later.

Jacy Gaige, then HUD’s director of enforcement, said gag orders and intimidation had been used to block cases.

“With one email, the entire process was shut down,” she told the Times. “It essentially stopped the settlement process, which is time sensitive because complainants and respondents come to an agreement about what they want to do to resolve a case. And often that is driven by specific deadlines that are occurring in people’s lives.”

Gaige resigned in July after warning Senator Elizabeth Warren that enforcement had nearly collapsed.

Warren has since requested an inspector general investigation, writing that the allegations “suggest that HUD is no longer enforcing Fair Housing and Civil Rights Laws — with dire consequences.”

The Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity has been among the hardest hit by reductions pushed under the Trump administration’s U.S. DOGE Service.

While federal offices lost about 10% of staff overall, HUD’s fair housing office lost 65%. From 31 employees in January, only 11 will remain after next month’s reassignments, according to the Times.

“I never thought I would be in this position,” said Paul Osadebe, a HUD lawyer. “We have people who are trying to destroy a baseline that people relied on.”

In June, two civil rights organizations filed a federal lawsuit accusing HUD of unlawfully withholding millions of dollars in grant funding intended to enforce fair housing laws.

Drop in settlements and charges

Changes were immediate upon Donald Trump taking office as President in January, the Times said.

HUD’s fair housing office typically secured $4 million to $8 million annually in settlements for Americans alleging discrimination.

From January to July, it collected less than $200,000, according to Gaige.

Charges of discrimination also plummeted. HUD historically issued about 35 charges a year; since Trump took office, only four have been filed, the Times added.

Rebecca Livengood, a Washington attorney, said the administration abandoned a Texas case where a homeowners’ association was found to exclude Black residents using housing vouchers.

“There’s every reason to think that in another administration, what were, at that point, sustained allegations of widespread racial discrimination would have been pursued,” she said.

‘Not a priority of the administration’

Staff said the retreat began during Trump’s first week, when an email ordered them to “cease and desist all work activities associated with environmental justice, diversity, equity and inclusion.”

Documents reviewed by The Times show that much of the office’s fair housing work was dismissed internally as “not a priority of the administration.”

John Gibbs, Trump’s deputy assistant secretary for fair housing, wrote in memos that “tenuous theories of discrimination” — including appraisal bias, zoning restrictions and gender identity protections — would no longer be prioritized.

He also called past approaches to combat redlining and reverse redlining “legally unsound.” Those practices entail refusing loans in minority populated areas and targeting those communities with predatory lending.

Impact on tenants, retaliation claims

The cutbacks have been particularly stark in handling housing complaints under the Violence Against Women Act, the Times said.

About 500 women annually seek HUD help after facing eviction or denial of housing because of domestic violence.

Only two of the six remaining fair housing lawyers reportedly have experience with the law.

“These are life and death requests,” said Osadebe. “These women are legitimately in mortal danger, and often without the government stepping in, nothing will be done.”

Several career officials said they faced retaliation for objecting.

Erik Heins, a supervisor, warned that reassignments would damage HUD’s ability to enforce civil rights — and was reportedly fired six days later for what HUD’s deputy general counsel called “unacceptable conduct.”

“My staff was being retaliated against for being civil rights practitioners,” Heins said. “Losing a dozen civil rights attorneys would cripple HUD’s ability to enforce its civil rights protections.”

HUD response

In a statement given to the Times, HUD Spokeswoman Kasey Lovett called it “patently false” that the department is weakening enforcement.

She said HUD has handled more than 4,100 cases since Trump took office — consistent with prior years — and that the administration inherited a “deeply inefficient case system.”

The Office of Fair Housing, Lovett said, “is using its authority to uphold the law, protect the vulnerable, and ensure meaningful access to housing.”

The Times pointed out that Lovett did not address the number of cases under investigation or resulting in legal action.