Jesse Coburn

Trump Administration Prepares to Drop Seven Major Housing Discrimination Cases Federal housing officials spent years investigating cities from Chicago to Memphis to Corpus Christi for putting industrial plants and unwanted facilities in poor, nonwhite neighborhoods. Now, under T...

New: the Trump administration is preparing to shut down seven major housing discrimination and segregation cases — including high-profile investigations in Chicago, Houston and Flint — despite findings in some that civil rights violations occurred. www.propublica.org/article/trum...

How the Trump Administration Is Weakening the Enforcement of Fair Housing Laws Starting with cases involving sexual orientation and identity, the Department of Housing and Urban Development is hobbling enforcement of the Fair Housing Act. Said one HUD attorney: “People are reall...

Investigations frozen.
Charges withheld.
Defendants emboldened not to cooperate.

The Trump administration is mounting a major retreat in the government's fight against housing discrimination and segregation, according to ten federal officials. Story here: www.propublica.org/article/trum...

Representatives Demand Housing Agency Halt Any Cryptocurrency Experiments Following reporting by ProPublica, three Democrats on the House Financial Services Committee have warned HUD against using crypto, which they said could be “dangerous, speculative, and harmful to work...

NEW: Following reporting by ProPublica, three Democrats on the House Financial Services Committee have warned HUD against using crypto, which they said could be “dangerous, speculative, and harmful to working families.”

By @jessecoburn.bsky.social

Federal Investigators Were Preparing Two Texas Housing Discrimination Cases — Until Trump Took Over The government spent years probing allegations that a Dallas HOA created rules to kick poor Black people out and that Texas discriminated against minority residents in Houston after Hurricane Harvey, ...

Federal investigators spent years on two major housing discrimination cases in Texas, finding what they believed were stark civil rights violations.

Then the Trump Admin assumed office and quietly took steps that officials think will likely kill both cases.

www.propublica.org/article/trum...

U.S. Housing Agency Considers Launching Crypto Experiment The Department of Housing and Urban Development, which oversees billions in aid and insures more than a trillion dollars in mortgages, is pondering using the blockchain and a stablecoin. One HUD offic...

New: HUD officials recently discussed using the blockchain and maybe cryptocurrency at a division that oversees billions in grants for affordable housing, homeless shelters, disaster recovery etc. A staffer said it'd be like paying grantees in "monopoly money." www.propublica.org/article/hud-...

DOGE Gains Access to Confidential Records on Housing Discrimination, Medical Details — Even Domestic Violence While some agencies have resisted efforts by Elon Musk’s team to access confidential records, HUD has opened the door. The potential harm to privacy could be significant.

New: DOGE has gained access to a Department of Housing and Urban Development system containing confidential personal information about hundreds of thousands of alleged victims of housing discrimination. www.propublica.org/article/doge...

The Housing Loophole That Lets Wealthy Investors Raise Rents on Poor Tenants As the U.S. struggles with a housing shortage, investors continue to exploit a gap in an affordable housing law to raise rents on 115,000 apartments. Congress has repeatedly failed to act.

The Housing Loophole That Lets Wealthy Investors Raise Rents on Poor Tenants www.propublica.org/article/affo...

A ProPublica social media graphic with information on how to contact reporter Jesse Coburn. It reads: “I'm tracking how the Trump administration reshapes policy at the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Transportation. If you work for HUD or DOT or are affected by what they do, l'd like to hear from you. jesse.coburn@propublica.org or 917-239-6642 on Signal and WhatsApp.

9/ @jessecoburn.bsky.social is concerned about how shifting HUD and DOT policies — such as restrictive zoning laws or highway expansions — will affect those who depend on affordable housing and public transit.

Reach out to him if you work for or are impacted by these agencies.

THE MOPED KING: Meet the Ex-Delivery Worker who Upended NYC Streets A Streetsblog investigation into a key player behind the city's wild, sometimes dangerous e-bike and moped boom.

“When Musk makes rockets, he himself does not need to read all the details about how a rocket would be made"

a fascinating @nyc.streetsblog.org investigation

www.streetsblogprojects.org/fly-electric...

The Moped King How an ex-delivery worker upended the streets of New York City, for better and for worse.

Co-published with Curbed! www.curbed.com/article/elec...

THE MOPED KING: Meet the Ex-Delivery Worker who Upended NYC Streets A Streetsblog investigation into a key player behind the city's wild, sometimes dangerous e-bike and moped boom.

Behind New York City's e-bike and moped boom is a little-known ex-delivery worker who has quietly built a micromobility empire. I spent a year looking into him and the freewheeling industry through which he rose. My last story for @nyc.streetsblog.org www.streetsblogprojects.org/fly-electric...

What ProPublica’s Reporters Will Be Covering During Donald Trump’s Second Presidency — and How to Contact Them From Trump’s relationships with billionaires to immigration, here are some of the issues and topics our reporters will be keeping an eye on as his second presidency begins.

I’m going to be covering housing and transportation for @propublica.org, with a focus on federal policy changes under the new administration. Tips + story ideas welcome, especially from anyone who works for HUD or DOT — jesse.coburn@propublica.org www.propublica.org/article/seco...

THREAD: In 2023, I received an envelope with no return address. Inside was a flash drive containing tens of 1000s of secret files.

It came from a vigilante with a tumultuous past, who'd conducted a years-long undercover operation. He didn’t tell the FBI or his family. He only told me.

Trump’s Pick to Lead Federal Housing Agency Has Opposed Efforts to Aid the Poor As HUD secretary, Scott Turner would oversee billions in housing aid, but as a Texas state legislator he voted against protections for poor tenants and has called government assistance “one of the mos...

Scott Turner voted to ensure landlords could refuse to rent to people on government assistance. He agreed with an interviewer that welfare is worse than slavery. He may soon lead the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

w/ @andykroll.bsky.social

www.propublica.org/article/scot...

Let me tell you a story – one of the more haunting I’ve seen in 20 years of journalism. It’s about greed, death and denial. It took two years to unravel one doctor’s myth, a hospital’s complicity in creating it, and a documented trail of suspicious deaths…🧵