On September 29, two Housing and Urban Development (HUD) civil rights lawyers, Palmer Heenan and Paul Osadebe were escorted out of work for trying to speak out about the Trump administration’s refusal to follow and enforce the Fair Housing Act.
Heenan and Osadebe found that Trump political appointees, who have swarmed into so many other federal agencies like locusts, made it impossible for them to work. Federal lawyers must now get permission from a Trump political commissar to communicate with clients. Their office has also been severely cut, with thousands of cases “stalled or stopped.”
Osadebe was handed several news articles featuring his criticisms of HUD before being put on paid administrative leave. This may be illegal, as HUD employees are allowed to express their political views, and may not be fired or placed on leave on the basis of politics.
Both Osadebe and Heenan plan to seek whistleblower protections.
