Democratic senators urge HUD to rescind fair housing grant overhaul
A plan to redirect fair housing funds is drawing pushback from 32 Democratic senators, who are urging the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to “rescind a series of proposed changes that would fundamentally undermine implementation” of the Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP).
The overhaul of the federal grant program is part of what HUD Assistant Secretary Craig Trainor described as an “organizational transformation” of HUD’s administration of fair housing laws in an internal email shortly after the plans were unveiled on July 2.
According to the senators’ letter to HUD Secretary Scott Turner, Trainor’s email referenced the words of President Donald Trump in calling the transformation part of a “noble tradition” of “Anglo-Saxons” and the “first Americans.”
The senators wrote that, if implemented, the plans could “shutter the doors of local fair housing organizations that handle more than 74 percent of the housing discrimination complaints across the country.”
The National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) and the Massachusetts Fair Housing Center filed a lawsuit in Massachusetts district court last month against HUD and Turner seeking a temporary restraining order, as well as declaratory and injunctive relief.
In a press release on Friday, NFHA President and CEO Lisa Rice thanked the senators for their efforts.
“Their support for the private, nonprofit qualified fair housing enforcement agencies serving people harmed by discrimination — veterans, seniors, families with children, people impacted by racial discrimination, and survivors of domestic violence and sexual harassment — is vital,” Rice said. “Congress funded this work, and HUD must follow the law.”
FHIP was enacted in 1987 to provide competitive grants to organizations that help victims of housing discrimination by conducting investigations and enforcing the Fair Housing Act, which bans housing discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status and disability.
When asked by Scotsman Guide about the senators’ letter, a HUD spokesperson offered a similar response to its statement when the lawsuit was filed, saying its objective is straightforward: “Enforce the law as written, protect the civil rights of Americans, and responsibly steward taxpayer resources without imposing additional burden or cost on homeowners and renters.”
HUD described its plan as a “comprehensive funding opportunity package to provide overdue reforms and reassert our commitment to protecting the seven characteristics defined in the Fair Housing Act.”
The agency added: “Secretary Turner has been clear that HUD will root out unlawful discrimination, and the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity will ensure that federally funded civil rights organizations protect the rights of all Americans.”
The senators’ letter pointed to the attempted termination of FHIP grants in 2025, when a federal judge ordered the reinstatement of terminated FHIP awards. It then listed other attempts by the administration to cut the grant funding.
It concluded with eight requests that the senators asked HUD to provide by Aug. 17, including a list of “all meetings, emails, phone calls, or other contacts” pertaining to FHIP by Trainor “and any other HUD officials with law schools, nonprofits, media agencies, or other groups who may be intended recipients under HUD’s FHIP funding notices.”
Senators Cory Booker of New Jersey, Raphael Warnock of Georgia and Chris Van Hollen of Maryland spearheaded the letter.
