The Trump administration last week rescinded a Obama-era rule that asked HUD recipients to measure and consider fixes to racial segregation in their communities.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."
NJ Rep. Kim walked amid the mess shortly after voting to certify Joe Biden’s victory over Donald Trump and felt the weight of the day wearing on him when something motivated him to clean up the debris.
A police officer has died from injuries sustained as President Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol, intensifying questions about the defeated president’s remaining days in office and the ability of the Capitol police to secure the area.
Nsé Ufot, CEO of the New Georgia Project, talked to Cheddar about the long road to flipping Georgia from red to blue in the presidential and senate runoff races.
Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio discussed the lack of preparedness by law enforcement in the lead-up to the Capitol breach on Wednesday and the culpability of the president in inciting the attack.
After years of treating President Donald Trump’s inflammatory rhetoric with a light touch, Facebook and Instagram are silencing his social media accounts for the rest of his presidency.
The U.S. registered its highest deaths yet from the coronavirus on the very day the mob attack on the Capitol laid bare some of the same, deep political divisions that have hampered the battle against the pandemic.
Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts is among multiple lawmakers calling for the removal of President Trump for the assault on the Capitol that unfolded on Wednesday.
Manufacturers, retailers, and corporate head-honchos alike have criticized President Donald Trump and certain Republicans' efforts to delay the peaceful transfer of power.
President-elect Joe Biden has introduced Merrick Garland as his pick for attorney general along with three others he has selected for senior Justice Department positions.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says President Donald Trump should immediately be removed from office or Congress may proceed to impeach him.
