"The Fair Housing Act sought to undo decades of social engineering via racist housing policies that created segregated communities," she said, according to ABC News.
President Trump weighed in on the rule, framing affordable housing as a threat to suburban safety and housing values.
"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," the president said on Twitter July 29.
"Your housing prices will go up based on the market, and crime will go down," he said, noting the rescinding of the Obama-era rule. "Enjoy!" he added.
Trump has previously claimed the housing policies of his political rivals will affect suburban safety. In July 16 remarks on the South Lawn of the White House, Trump accused Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden of wanting to "abolish" the suburbs and to eliminate single-family zoning, "bringing who knows into your suburbs, so your communities will be unsafe and your housing values will go down."
The change comes amid significant difficulty for the United States in the wake of the new coronavirus epidemic.
Peaceful protests followed widespread viewing of video of the May 25 death of George Floyd, a black man, while being detained by Minneapolis police. In many major U.S. cities, these protests were also accompanied by riots and civil unrest that could be the costliest in U.S. history. They caused hundreds of millions of damage and multiple deaths in Minneapolis alone.
Concerns about police brutality have prompted legislation billed as police reform in several states, as well as calls to defund the police. There are also reports of demoralization among police forces, failure to intervene in crime, and efforts of officers to seek early retirement.
In March, the U.S. bishops and Catholic Charities USA filed joint comments asking HUD to withdraw the proposed new rule on the grounds that it fails to address barriers to fair housing, reduces community engagement, weakens the definition of Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing, and weakens the role of public housing authorities.
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"The responsibility to ensure fair housing choice is more robust than simply guarding against housing discrimination. The previous definition of AFFH was more holistic and included important elements such as overcoming patterns of segregation and fostering inclusive communities," their March statement said.
The proposed rule, they said, wrongly reduced the definition of fair housing to ensuring that individuals and families have "the opportunity and options to live where they choose, within their means, without unlawful discrimination related to race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin, of disability."
On Wednesday the bishops and Catholic Charities USA cited the U.S. bishops' 1975 statement "The Right to a Decent Home," which said "an absence of racial discrimination is no longer enough. We must insist upon effective programs to remedy past injustice."
"Let us renew this call to action to ensure all people have access to safe, decent, and affordable housing," they added.