(The Hill) President Trump claimed Wednesday that his recent decision to replace an Obama administration rule targeting racial housing discrimination would boost suburban housing prices and reduce crime.
In a pair of Wednesday tweets, Trump asserted that his efforts to prevent low-income housing from being built in affluent areas would prevent suburbanites from being “bothered or financially hurt” by a rule intended to expand access to housing for minorities.
“I am happy to inform all of the people living their Suburban Lifestyle Dream that you will no longer be bothered or financially hurt by having low income housing built in your neighborhood,” Trump tweeted.
“Your housing prices will go up based on the market, and crime will go down. I have rescinded the Obama-Biden AFFH Rule. Enjoy!”
…Your housing prices will go up based on the market, and crime will go down. I have rescinded the Obama-Biden AFFH Rule. Enjoy!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 29, 2020
Trump was referring to his decision last week to repeal the Obama administration’s 2015 Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) rule. That rule, written under the Fair Housing Act, required local governments to prove that federal subsidies for housing projects would not go to developments with zoning laws or other regulations that are effectively discriminatory to minorities, particularly Black and Hispanic Americans.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on Thursday repealed the AFFH with a measure that gave local governments significantly more flexibility and benefit of the doubt to establish their own fair housing guidelines…
HUD claimed that the original rule effectively stripped local control over regulations and drowned localities with onerous and unnecessary paperwork.
