HUD Secretary Ben Carson
Before being appointed to office, HUD Secretary Ben Carson said he had no idea how to run an agency. Apparently, he was right.
Carson said he would remove wording from the agency’s mission statement that it would create “conclusive and sustainable communities free from discrimination” and replace it with “HUD’s mission is to ensure Americans have access to fair, affordable housing and opportunities to achieve self-sufficiency, thereby strengthening our communities and nation,” according to The Hill.
The National Urban League pointed out the racist implications of the change while Human Rights Campaign said one effect would be LGBT discrimination.
HRC spokeswoman Sarah Warbelow said, “This is another effort by the Trump-Pence Administration and Secretary Carson to erase LGBTQ people and other marginalized communities from key protections and language across agencies. It is unconscionable that a federal agency created, in part, to fight discrimination is being led by someone who has long denied such discrimination exists.”
— David Taffet
