| Under President Donald Trump, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development has made a hard pivot on its enforcement of civil rights laws. That’s the broad takeaway in a report from two whistleblowers, both fair housing lawyers, who disclosed their concerns in a letter to Senator Elizabeth Warren in late August. Two weeks later, on Sept. 16, a top official at HUD issued a memo outlining the agency’s position on fair housing cases. Under the new guidance, HUD investigators and lawyers must focus on explicit acts of abuse or discrimination against an individual — and avoid cases involving discriminatory practices against particular neighborhoods or certain groups, such as redlining and housing appraisal bias. On Sept. 30, the agency took action to remove the whistleblowers, terminating one of the attorneys and placing the other on administrative leave. The move drew a rebuke from Warren, who called on Housing Secretary Scott Turner to testify before Congress. Those attorneys spoke to Bloomberg about why they’re raising the alarm. Read more from Sarah Holder, Josh Eidelson and me about the stormy month for fair housing laws. Today on CityLab: Trump Housing Agency Removes Lawyers Who Filed Whistleblower Report — Kriston Capps | 
