The Trump administration last week rescinded a Obama-era rule that asked HUD recipients to measure and consider fixes to racial segregation in their communities.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."
Dr. Rick Bright is telling Congress that America faces the “darkest winter in modern history” unless its leaders act decisively to prevent a rebound of the coronavirus.
Sen. Richard Burr stepped aside as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee after the FBI served a search warrant for his phone as part of an ongoing insider-trading investigation tied to the coronavirus pandemic.
Nearly 3 million laid-off workers applied for U.S. unemployment benefits last week as the viral outbreak led more companies to slash jobs even though most states have begun to let some businesses reopen under certain restrictions.
Stocks are falling in early trading on Wall Street Wednesday, tacking on more losses to their end-of-day slide from a day before.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has unveiled a more than $3 trillion new coronavirus aid package. It would provide nearly $1 trillion for states, cities and tribal governments to avert layoffs and another $200 billion in “hazard pay” for essential workers.
Republican Senators Marsha Blackburn and Martha McSally have introduced legislation that would allow U.S. citizens to file lawsuits against the Chinese Communist Party over the COVID-19 pandemic.
Wall Street fell to its biggest loss since the start of the month on worries about the downside of reopening the economy too soon.
Gloria Guevara, World Travel and Tourism Council CEO and president, told Cheddar on Tuesday that travel-related businesses are very eager for people to start taking trips again, however, opening the industry will need to be done in a coordinated way.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, is warning Congress and the nation of what he calls "really serious” consequences of suffering, death and deeper economic damage if state and local officials lift stay-at-home orders too quickly.
Broward County Mayor Dale V.C. Holness told Cheddar Monday many of the counties in South Florida have been working together to decide on a reopening date for their communities.
