On his first day in office, Scott Turner made a bold move as Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
He directed agency staff to suspend all pending and future enforcement actions related to the Obama-era Equal Access Rule, which required HUD-funded programs and shelters to determine eligibility based on a person's self-identified gender.
Turner said that the move was part of President Donald Trump's agenda to "restore biological truth to the federal government."
"We want to protect the ladies entering any HUD facilities," Turner told reporters Thursday, adding that he wants to "restore equal rights, but no extra rights." The Secretary added that most of the females who utilize HUD shelters already come from domestic violence situations, and he wants to ensure that their tragedies are not exacerbated when they turn to the federal government for help.
Turner's directive follows Trump's Day One executive order terminating federal diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and mandating the federal government only recognize two genders, male and female. This week, Trump signed an executive order preventing ...
