A little noticed article last week in the Washington Post exposed the nefarious tactics being used at the Department of Housing and Urban Development to purge competent staffers at the behest of private industry. One of those affected is my sorority sister and good friend Pamela Danner, who was Administrator, Office of Manufactured Housing Programs. Her sin? Upholding HUD’s mission to ensure that low-income Americans have access to safe and affordable housing options. Her other sin was being a staff holdover from President Obama’s administration, but I digress.
Yep, seems that certain private industry groups weren’t happy with those pesky safety regulations “hampering” their business, and they wanted her out; so, reassigned she was, and her assistant was terminated. Mark Weiss, President of the Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform, called the action “amazingly ill-considered, offensive and arguably scandalous,” further adding that it directly conflicts with #45’s own pledge to “drain the swamp” in the nation’s capital.
In spite of the continuing chants at his campaign-style rallies to “drain the swamp,” it’s never been more clogged and now – mostly “under the radar”– #45’s swamp overflows with mucky special interest creatures.
“A Once Obscure Office at HUD is the Subject of Unusually Intense Lobbying Effort”
–Shelly Livingston, Vice Chair, Committee on Public Policy and Political Action