Secretary Scott Turner directed the Department of Housing and Urban Development to stop enforcement of its 2016 Equal Access Rule on Thursday, which would shut out transgender people from access to housing programs and shelters that rely on federal government funding.
The directive comes just days after Turner was confirmed to lead HUD and is his first major announcement as secretary. The department, which said the policy change would ensure HUD would only “offer services to Americans based on their sex at birth: male or female,” is in line with other anti-trans positions the Trump administration has taken.
“I am directing HUD staff to halt any pending or future enforcement actions related to HUD’s 2016 Equal Access Rule, which, in essence, tied housing programs, shelters and other facilities funded by HUD to far-left gender ideology,” Turner said in a statement.
The Obama-era rule banned federally funded facilities from discriminating against gender identity or sexual orientation and has been a frequent target of the Trump administration’s attacks on “gender ideology.” Transgender people are disproportionately affected by homelessness and are more likely to experience violence and harassment while in shelters, according to past HUD data.
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“The President … is pleased to see [Turner is] hitting the ground running in executing the President’s day one order to halt any and all DEIA programs that are at odds with the administration’s policies,” Harrison Fields, a spokesperson for the Trump administration, said in a statement to NOTUS.
Housing advocates and Democrats previously told NOTUS they didn’t know what to expect from Turner on housing policy — during his confirmation process, he didn’t commit to advocating for additional HUD funding.
This move signals Turner’s intention to lead his department in line with President Donald Trump’s broader agenda goals. It fits in with Day One executive orders, including one that specifically referenced rescinding the 2016 Equal Access rule.
Rep. Becca Balint, a Democrat, said when it comes to attacks on the LGBTQ+ community, she is “no longer surprised about how low they are willing to go.”
“This is designed to come after the most vulnerable members of the trans community, people who depend on federally funded shelters,” Balint said in a statement to NOTUS. “It’s cruel and will no doubt put American people at risk and without a roof over their heads.”
The action picks up on a first-term Trump rule in 2019 that would have allowed single-sex homeless shelters to turn away transgender people. The proposal, which ultimately was withdrawn by Joe Biden, faced criticism from congressional Democrats at the time.
In previous interviews with NOTUS asking about this policy, House Democrats were split on how much the party should prioritize the needs of the transgender community under the second Trump administration.
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Amelia Benavides-Colón is a NOTUS reporter and an Allbritton Journalism Institute fellow.
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