Outgoing Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro said in an interview published Friday that he is concerned about Ben Carson taking housing “backward” as part of the Trump administration, expressing concern that Carson could undo the department’s new fair housing rule.
“It concerns me that we could go backward,” the Texan said in an interview with CityLab, referring to the possibility that Carson could roll back the 2015 rule if the former neurosurgeon is confirmed as his successor. “But we’re going to do everything we can to impress upon the next administration the importance of this work.”
The rule in question, called Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing, requires counties and towns to demonstrate, using a tool provided by HUD, that they are taking steps to alleviate discrimination and increase access to opportunity for protected groups. If they do not, they risk losing HUD funds.
The rule is meant to implement civil rights era-legislation and combat racial inequality. Conservative critics, however, warn that it represents federal intrusion into local zoning and governance decisions. In a 2015 op-ed, Carson equated the rule with “government-engineered attempts to legislate racial equality.”
Castro said that he has spoken to Carson only on an introductory basis and that they have not discussed the rule or other HUD business.
