Trump Administration Threatens Housing for Millions in “War on the Poor”
Proposed cuts to Section 8 put 3.3 million people at risk of eviction and homelessness.
By Eleanor J. Bader , Truthout Published September 22, 2025
In fact, when the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 agenda was released in April 2023, it outlined a long list of ways to curtail benefits to the poor, from cuts to Medicaid and SNAP to defunding subsidized housing programs. Among other things, the multifaceted document recommended repeal of the 57-year-old Fair Housing Act, which prohibits landlords and building owners from discriminating against potential renters and home buyers “on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, family status, or national origin.” That particular suggestion was relatively new, but the right has for decades wanted to eliminate the Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS Program, and has advocated for the removal of undocumented people living in mixed-status households from public or subsidized housing. Right-wing politicians have also sought to impose work requirements and time limits on the receipt of Section 8 rental subsidies.
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From the family who profited off the government while discriminating against the poor.
In 1973, the U.S. Justice Department sued Fred Trump, his son Donald Trump, and their company, Trump Management, Inc., for racial discrimination against Black tenants. Evidence collected by the government and civil rights activists detailed how the company, which received millions in federal housing loans, systematically refused to rent apartments to Black applicants.
Key details of the federal housing discrimination case:
- Government investigation: After receiving complaints from civil rights groups like the National Urban League and Operation Open City, the Justice Department conducted its own investigation.
- "Testers" expose discrimination: Black and white "testers" were sent to Trump-owned buildings, including federally subsidized developments like Trump Village in Brooklyn. White testers were offered apartments, while Black testers were either told no units were available or were steered toward complexes with more minority residents.
- "C" for "colored": Federal investigators found that Trump employees used a "C" for "colored" on rental applications to identify Black applicants. A former building superintendent testified that he was instructed to mark the applications this way for Black apartment seekers.
- Settlement via consent decree: After a two-year legal battle, the Trumps settled the case in 1975 by signing a consent decree. The agreement did not include an admission of guilt but prohibited the company from discriminating based on race and required safeguards to ensure fair housing practices.
- Declaration of victory: Donald Trump characterized the settlement as a "minor settlement without admitting any guilt," and noted that it did not force the company to rent to "welfare cases".
- Alleged continued violations: In 1978, the Justice Department accused Trump Management of continuing to violate the consent decree, citing new evidence of racial steering. The original decree expired in 1982 before the Justice Department pursued further action.
- Federal backing and profiteering: Earlier in his career, Fred Trump was a major beneficiary of Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans, which financed his large-scale housing projects after World War II. He was investigated by a Senate committee in 1954 for allegedly "profiteering" from these government loans by overstating the cost of his developments.
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