Trump Cabinet members actions and issues: on Civil Rights
Ben Carson:
People can only afford to live in certain places
An Obama-era scheme called Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing barely got underway before President Trump took office. Obama's Department of Housing and Urban Development floated a requirement for "balanced housing" in every suburb. "Balanced"
meant affordable even for people who need federal vouchers. Towns had to make it possible for low-income minorities to choose suburban living and provide "adequate support to make their choices possible."
The real barrier to suburban living is money. Living in the 'burbs isn't cheap. HUD Secretary Ben Carson told a House committee last
May that "people can only afford to live in certain places." It's "not because George Wallace is blocking the door."
Source: New York Post on 2020 Trump Cabinet
Jul 21, 2020
Jeff Sessions:
1986: Lost appointment for racially insensitive comments
After law school, Sessions joined the U.S. Army Reserve (1973--86), rising to the rank of captain. He practiced law in Russellville and then Mobile before becoming an assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Alabama (1975--77). In 1981 Pres.
Ronald Reagan appointed him U.S. attorney for the same region, and Sessions served in that post until 1993. He was nominated for a seat on the U.S. District Court in 1986, but the Senate Judiciary Committee did not advance the nomination for a vote
after it was claimed that he had made racially insensitive comments, among other allegations. In 1994 Sessions was elected attorney general of the state of Alabama, and he took office the following year. In 1996 he won a race for a seat in the
U.S. Senate. He entered the Senate in 1997, marking the first time since Reconstruction that two Republican senators from Alabama had served concurrently.
Source: Britannica Encyclopedia for Trump Cabinet biographies
Dec 31, 2018
Linda McMahon:
Longtime advocate for women in leadership and business
McMahon has been a longtime advocate for women in leadership and business and has been widely recognized as one of the country's top female executives.
She stepped down as CEO of WWE in 2009 to run for the U.S. Senate and was the Republican nominee to represent the people of Connecticut in 2010 and 2012.
Source: SBA.gov official website for Trump Cabinet biographies
Dec 31, 2018
Nikki Haley:
Women don't have more challenges, just different ones
"I don't think women have more challenges. They don't. I've never thought that. I think our challenges can be different, but I don't think we have more challenges," she says. "The frustrations, I think, are literally what every other woman goes through.
Balancing your marriage and your kids and your finances and your work and wanting to really make people proud. Making sure your parents are okay. Loving the job you do and wanting to be great at it."
Source: The Washington Examiner on Trump Cabinet
Dec 13, 2018
Betsy DeVos:
Rescind "weaponized" use of sexual misconduct accusations
A draft of Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos's proposed changes would narrow a school's responsibility to respond to sexual misconduct under Title IX, a federal civil-rights law that prohibits gender discrimination in publicly funded schools. The
proposals would also allow them to use a [stricter] standard of evidence and punish students for reports deemed false.DeVos, who rescinded Obama-era guidance last year, has said these changes would make the process more fair to accused students and
to schools. The leaked draft states that previous guidance lacked clarity about schools' responsibilities under Title IX, leading accused students to sue their schools and prompting survivors to file complaints to the Office of Civil Rights, which DeVos
has said was "weaponized" by the Obama administration.
In 2011, the Obama administration issued guidance expanding schools' responsibility under Title IX, and schools adopted procedures and designated employees to handle cases of sexual violence.
Source: Seattle Times' Asia Fields on 2018 Trump Cabinet
Sep 29, 2018
Ben Carson:
Scrap HUD tool for racial discrimination in public housing
In May of this year, Carson announced that he would be eliminating the software program used under the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) Rule to ensure that racial discrimination did not take place in public housing. Critics of
Carson's decision say that this makes minorities vulnerable to discrimination and that Carson is more concerned about budgeting and pandering to the multifamily industry than maintaining equality.Under pressure from advocacy groups,
Carson invited the public to comment on the reform process. "A federal judge upheld our decision to suspend the use of a computer tool that was failing to help communities meet their fair housing responsibilities,"
Carson said. "What we want to do in pursuing new rulemaking--and why we're asking for public comment from all parties concerned--is to lessen regulatory burdens, while at the same time, help local officials meet their obligations," he added.
Source: Housing Wire's Jeremiah Jensen on 2017 Trump Cabinet
Sep 14, 2017
Wilbur Ross:
LGBT protections omitted, then reinstated following scrutiny
Ross issued a new non-discrimination policy this week omitting explicit assurances LGBT workers won't face discrimination in his department, prompting an outcry that resulted in an updated version of the document making clear the prohibition on
anti-LGBT discrimination. The "Statement on Equal Employment Opportunity" initially found on the Commerce Department's website declares it won't tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age or disability.
Source: Washington Blade on 2017 Trump Cabinet
Jun 16, 2017
Nikki Haley:
Our goal should always be to empower women
I think any democracy that has allowed themselves to really lift up women has benefited from it.
Our goal should always be to empower women, to show how they can be fantastic leaders, and to help them get there--and when they are successful, support and encourage them.
Source: Council on Foreign Relations on Trump Cabinet
Mar 29, 2017
Sonny Perdue:
Call on legislature for Constitutional ban on gay marriage
Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue says he'll call a special legislative session to work up another constitutional ban on same-sex marriages if the state Supreme Court doesn't rule on the issue by Aug. 7. His announcement came shortly after the state vowed to
appeal a judge's decision to overturn the ban approved by voters in 2004. "I think the people spoke overwhelmingly. I think the people of Georgia knew exactly what they were voting for," said Perdue.
Source: Law.com, "Perdue vows special session", on Trump Cabinet
Jan 19, 2017
Page last updated: Dec 03, 2021