Earlier today, the U.S. Senate confirmed Dr. Ben Carson as our next Secretary of the Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD). The vote (58-41) was mostly along party lines. Frankly, given how well his confirmation hearing went, I am a bit surprised the vote was as close as it was and that it took until the first week in March to clear the nomination. Nevertheless, we now have a new leader at HUD. From my seat as management’s lawyer, we will now at least begin to learn about Carson’s initiatives and how he plans to direct HUD to enforce the Fair Housing Act (FHA). During his confirmation hearing, Dr. Carson stated he would continue to aggressively enforce the law, although he acknowledged little or no experience in the housing arena.

Now confirmed by the Senate, Carson said he would take a “listening tour” to hear from career HUD officials and others involved in housing to help learn about concerns and how best to use HUD’s $49 billion dollar budget for 2017.

My initial prediction: a Carson-led HUD will continue to investigate and file housing discrimination cases based on the seven protected classes in the FHA as have previous administrations (both Republican and Democratic). But I would not be surprised to see some of HUD’s other recent initiatives (such as rules designed to “affirmatively further fair housing” and/or rules concerning LGBT individuals) to get additional scrutiny.  I would also guess that HUD will look to expand partnerships with the private sector and various religious groups in an effort to transition individuals out of public housing.

Just A Thought.