The Federal Government Shutdown Exacerbates Harm of HUD’s Dismantling of its Fair Housing Infrastructure

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 

On Tuesday, September 30, 2025, Congress failed to pass and send to the president a new spending bill to avert a shutdown of the federal government. Without the passage of a Continuing Resolution, federal funding stopped at midnight, ceasing nonessential federal operations and resulting in furloughs of thousands of federal workers. The funding gap disrupts critical services provided to the people in America by the federal government, including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) ability to fulfill its important responsibility of enforcing the Fair Housing Act, which the federal government does not permit to continue during a shutdown. It also hampers HUD’s ability to advance responsible AI in housing infrastructure and guard against algorithmic discrimination in housing and lending systems, and risks potential housing displacements tied to the rapid construction of data centers.  

In response, the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) issued the following statement:

“Halting the services of HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO) during the nation’s fair and affordable housing crisis places the lives of millions of people in jeopardy, as fair housing is vital to people’s ability to live and thrive. Disabled veterans seeking to get off the streets and into permanent housing; seniors who need a safe place to live; families with children denied housing; survivors of domestic violence and/or sexual assault fleeing abuse; people with disabilities who are denied accessible housing; Black and Latino consumers trying to secure a mortgage on fair terms; women experiencing sexual harassment by their landlords; and others seeking housing free of discrimination will all be devastated by our federal government’s inability to enforce fair housing rights. 

“This significant disturbance comes as HUD has already unlawfully eviscerated our nation’s fair housing infrastructure. And recent whistleblower complaints provide evidence of the ways that FHEO is disregarding its fair housing enforcement obligations. Further, the Trump administration has issued executive orders attacking civil rights, closed agencies, fired federal staff, eliminated watchdogs, stripped away federal oversight, rescinded anti-discrimination policies, eliminated funding, withdrawn the U.S. from international human rights bodies, and threatened civil and criminal actions against civil and human rights groups and public officials sowing chaos, fear, insecurity, and dysfunction around the country. 

“Stopping HUD’s vital services while people throughout the nation are in dire need and struggling with rising housing costs, increased complaints of housing discrimination, a lack of affordable housing supply, and technology’s growing role in determining housing decisions will worsen the fair and affordable housing crisis. And the shutdown impairs the ability of nonprofit, local fair housing organizations to protect people from housing discrimination—compounding the damage HUD has already done by belatedly making FY’24 grants under the Fair Housing Initiatives Program at the last possible minute.  

“The administration’s AI Action Plan has ignited a push to build data centers at an unprecedented pace. Yet the very staff who protect communities from environmental hazards tied to this surge are being furloughed or, if the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) follows through with its threat, permanently laid off. This contradiction undermines both the integrity of the AI agenda and the health and safety of the neighborhoods where these facilities are being sited. NFHA warns that the risks are not hypothetical. During the 2018–2019 shutdown, the Environmental Protection Agency operated with only about six percent of its staff, focusing solely on emergencies while oversight, inspections, and community protections were suspended. A repeat of that reality would leave millions of people in American exposed to unchecked environmental harms and deprive fair housing groups of critical government partners. 

“NFHA urges Congress and the Trump administration to negotiate in good faith in the best interest of the people of America on a stopgap measure and ensure our nation’s fair housing laws are fully enforced. It is imperative that our government serves all people at this moment as they are relying on HUD’s crucial services and support for one of life’s most basic necessities—housing. People are worried sick about receiving fair housing opportunities to stay alive and thrive during these challenging times. 

“Finally, thwarting the federal government from properly functioning is a threat to our nation’s democracy. Any attempt to use the shutdown to trigger a further major reduction of HUD FHEO staff must be avoided at all costs. FHEO has operated for years with insufficient staff, and this administration already has decimated it. Further attempts to hollow out the division during a shutdown would be an abdication of HUD’s responsibilities under the Fair Housing Act while inflicting needless pain on the people of America.”