Waters and Warren Introduce Bill to Restore Civil Rights Protections During Fair Housing Month

“President Trump and his Administration are emboldening housing discrimination at every turn, hurting the elderly and disabled people, women experiencing domestic violence, and racial minorities across our country,” said Ranking Member Warren. “Americans deserve a government that fights for them in their toughest moments, which is why I’m proud to partner with Congresswoman Waters to introduce this bill that would reverse course on the Trump Administration’s dangerous attack against fair housing protections and help deliver on the promise of equal opportunity for communities across the country.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), the top Democrat on the House Committee on Financial Services, and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), the top Democrat on the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, introduced the “Restoring Fair Housing Protections Eliminated by Trump Act of 2025,” which would restore the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) Rule that was eliminated by Scott Turner, Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

The United States is currently experiencing record levels of homelessness and an ongoing affordable housing crisis. Despite this escalating issue, in March 2025, HUD Secretary Scott Turner issued an order to repeal the (AFFH) rule, which was originally designed to help identify and address barriers to fair housing. This reckless decision would have significant implications for historically marginalized communities—especially women, people of color and LGBTQ – and may contribute to continued patterns of discrimination and unequal access to housing opportunities. In response, this bill by Congresswoman Waters and Senator Warren, seeks to restore the AFFH rule and ensure that meaningful steps to advance housing equity are being taken.

“As our nation faces the worst affordable housing and homelessness crisis in history, we cannot afford to lose protections that help to address systematic housing discrimination and promote housing equity. And yet, Secretary Turner’s decision to eliminate the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Rule is not only reckless—it’s a dangerous step backward that will only make the crisis worse and deny vulnerable communities the fair housing they deserve,” said Ranking Member Waters. “That’s why I am proud to partner with Senator Warren to introduce the ‘Restoring Fair Housing Protections Eliminated by Trump Act of 2025,’ which, if passed, would not only restore this important safeguard but would also shine a light on where the system is falling short, expose harmful patterns of discrimination and strengthen enforcement to ensure that every community—especially those that have been historically marginalized—has access to safe, dignified and affordable housing. I urge my colleagues in Congress to support this legislation and oppose any efforts by the Trump Administration to strip hardworking Americans of their rights to freely and fairly access safe, decent, and affordable housing in the communities of their choice.”

“President Trump and his Administration are emboldening housing discrimination at every turn, hurting the elderly and disabled people, women experiencing domestic violence, and racial minorities across our country,” said Ranking Member Warren. “Americans deserve a government that fights for them in their toughest moments, which is why I’m proud to partner with Congresswoman Waters to introduce this bill that would reverse course on the Trump Administration’s dangerous attack against fair housing protections and help deliver on the promise of equal opportunity for communities across the country.”

This legislation restores fair housing protections eliminated by Secretary Turner by requiring HUD to:

• Eliminate the Trump Administration’s 2025 interim final rule and reinstate the 2021 interim final rule definition of Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing;
• Create a public database of fair housing complaints;
• Issue a report to Congress regarding complaints related to digital platforms and artificial intelligence systems used for tenant screening, rent setting, real estate listings, and more.

This bill is supported by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, PolicyLink, National Fair Housing Alliance, NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, Justice in Aging, The Kelsey, National Housing Law Project, SAGE, National Consumer Law Center (on behalf of its low-income clients).

To view the legislative text, click here, to view the section by section, click here.