The Trump administration is trying to limit the enforcement of the Fair Housing Act — that’s according to a New York Times review of dozens of emails, memos and other internal communications, as well as interviews with current and former employees at the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Speaking to the Times, lawyers say they have been blocked from communicating with clients without approval from a Trump appointee. Staff members also detail how their fair housing work is being dismissed as an offshoot of DEI. In response, Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren said her office is reviewing documents shared by whistleblowers inside HUD.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren: “These documents detail how the Trump administration apparently views the office that enforces civil right protections in housing as a, quote, 'optics problem.' Imagine thinking that defending Black families from being denied a mortgage because they’re Black, or protecting a mom and her kids from living with an abusive father, is a, quote, 'optics problem.' Imagine thinking that it’s an optics problem to help the dad with a bad knee whose landlord refuses to install a handrail on the stairs.”