A group of current and former Department of Housing and Urban Development employees launched a website on Thursday accusing the Trump administration of systematically blocking enforcement of federal fair housing laws. The employees chose to remain anonymous, citing fear of being fired.

Why it matters: federal fair housing law prohibits discrimination in housing based on race, colour, religion, sex, national origin, disability and familial status. If enforcement has been halted, millions of Americans who face housing discrimination have fewer avenues for redress.

What the employees allege

According to letters posted on the site, the administration has “ground fair housing enforcement to a halt” and is “picking and choosing which protected classes count.” Staffing at HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity has been cut by 41.7 percent.

At least 115 fair housing cases have been halted or closed, the employees said. Two HUD civil rights lawyers were fired last autumn after going to Congress with concerns that the agency was unlawfully restricting enforcement.

The administration’s position

HUD says it is restoring “sanity” to fair housing enforcement. The department has proposed ending liability for unintentional discrimination, known as disparate impact, which critics of the doctrine argue punishes landlords and developers for neutral policies that happen to produce unequal outcomes.

HUD has also opened investigations into Boston, Minneapolis and Washington state over housing plans that aim to address historical racial discrimination, arguing these policies may themselves be biased against white applicants.

The broader debate

Supporters of the changes argue that disparate impact rules created perverse incentives and that housing policy should focus on expanding supply rather than litigating outcomes. Opponents, including a coalition of state attorneys general, argue the administration is dismantling a core civil rights protection.

What happens next

The website is likely to intensify congressional scrutiny. Several Democratic senators have called for oversight hearings. The legal challenge to HUD’s proposed disparate impact changes is expected to be heard in federal court later this year.