The Trump administration last week rescinded a Obama-era rule that asked HUD recipients to measure and consider fixes to racial segregation in their communities.
President Donald Trump then followed up the decision with a tweet that critics say was an explicit appeal to white, suburban voters.
"His tweet was aimed at a strategy of appealing to racial resentment and really people's worst ideas about how our communities should be structured," David Sanchez, director of research and development for the National Community Stabilization Trust, told Cheddar. "Attitudes like that are a big reason why we have such severe segregation by race, class, and opportunity in this country, and unfortunately the president is trying to use those fears to benefit himself politically."
The loss of the rule itself has gotten less attention, in part due to its low profile as more of a regulatory tweak than an aggressive federal policy.
The Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Rule that Trump's HUD eliminated asked municipalities and housing authorities to account for racial bias in their communities by writing a report and issuing recommendations, but it did not force municipalities to address segregation directly.
"It was about gathering data," Sanchez said. "It was about getting people talking about segregation. But it wasn't about forcing communities to do anything."
In the long-term, though, he added that cutting the rule will only contribute to the ongoing economic divide between the suburbs and cities.
"It's going to continue to concentrate economic resources, social privilege in certain people who can afford to live in high-opportunity communities," Sanchez said. "In the same way the COVID crisis has supercharged inequality in this country, this is just another step in that direction."
Progress for the LGBTQ community was made last week when Andi Mudryk, a long-time disability advocate, became the first openly transgender person appointed to the bench in California. Chris Johnson, White House reporter for the Washington Blade, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
President Biden proposed a new billionaire’s tax, that would subject the richest Americans to a minimum tax rate of 20 percent. The White House says billionaires pay an average tax rate of just eight percent, much lower than the national average of 22 percent. Cheddar News speaks with ProPublica’s Paul Kiel who explains how the regulation would work.
The most popular and most valuable cryptocurrency is also the least eco-friendly - data shows that Bitcoin mining generates the same amount of carbon emissions as the entire country of Thailand. According to nonprofit Fair Planet, 96 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions come from Bitcoin mining every year. Now, a consortium of climate activist groups is calling on the Bitcoin industry to cut its energy use by making changes to its software code. Michael Brune, former executive director of the Sierra Club, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Imani Gandy, senior editor for law and policy at Rewire News Group, and co-host of the podcast Boom! Lawyered, joins Cheddar Politics to discuss Ketanji Brown Jackson's upcoming confirmation hearings, and the politics surrounding several Republican attack lines against her in the lead-up.
Susannah Wellford, founder and CEO of Running Start, joins Cheddar News to discuss getting more women involved in politics. Running Start helps provide women and girls the tools they need to get involved in politics, and to see a future where they can become political leaders.
Congressional candidate Melanie D'Arrigo came on Cheddar Politics to talk about her campaign for the Democratic nomination in New York's Third Congressional district. The progressive activist ran in the 2020 primary against incumbent Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi. The seat is open this time, as Suozzi seeks the New York Governorship.
Reecie Colbert, founder of Black Women Views Media, breaks down the roles of race and partisanship in the Senate hearings for Supreme Court Nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. She also discusses the importance of standing up for Black women in the public sphere.
Michael Kirk, director of the new Frontline documentary 'Pelosi's Power,' joins Cheddar Politics to discuss House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's long career as a Democratic leader in Congress.
President Joe Biden is ordering the release of 1 million barrels of oil per day from the nation’s strategic petroleum reserve for six months in a bid to control energy prices.
