Jennifer Ludden

Last month, the head of HUD's Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity put out a long memo explaining why and how they are changing priorities.

Basically, and this is interesting, the memo accuses previous administrations of going beyond the law to protect not just individuals but groups of people.

It cites things like gender identity, environmental justice, and race-based guidance, and it says those will no longer be a priority.

The memo also says HUD is reviewing its approach to redlining that could include cases where, say, someone in a largely Black neighborhood has trouble getting a loan.

A HUD spokesperson says the layoffs are to align programs with the Trump administration's priorities.

The agency did not provide specifics, but a union tally finds nearly a third of those cut are people who investigate allegations of housing discrimination.

HUD union steward Paul Osadebe says they do labor-intensive work that requires expertise.

And without that, it's not possible to enforce the fair housing laws Congress has passed.

He says the layoffs appear to gut some entire offices that come on top of previous major cuts to HUD's fair housing staff, including an attempt to fire Osedebe.

Jennifer Ludden, NPR News, Washington.

Early this year, Stephanie Rogers and her two daughters moved in with her mom.

It was to save money and also a hedge against mass layoffs and the chance of another shutdown.

Rogers works for the FDA and is a chapter president of the National Treasury Employees Union.

She remembers the 2018 shutdown that dragged out 35 days, so this time she made a painful decision.

She says the FDA is her dream job, but she has no idea if she'll get back pay or even still have a job whenever the shutdown ends.

Early this year, Stephanie Rogers and her two daughters moved in with her mom.

It was to save money and also a hedge against mass layoffs and the chance of another shutdown.

Rogers works for the FDA and is a chapter president of the National Treasury Employees Union.

She remembers the 2018 shutdown that dragged out 35 days, so this time she made a painful decision.

She says the FDA is her dream job, but she has no idea if she'll get back pay or even still have a job whenever the shutdown ends.