Congresswoman Nikema Williams Demands the HUD Reinstate Two Wrongly Terminated Attorneys

WASHINGTON D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Nikema Williams (GA-05) led 37 other Congressional colleagues in a letter to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner demanding that HUD reinstate the two attorneys who were wrongly terminated.

Recent findings show that the two attorneys were terminated following their alleged participation in whistleblower disclosures to the media and Members of Congress alleging that your Department’s leadership is purposefully neglecting enforcement of the Fair Housing Act and actively interfering with civil rights work. This recent development demands an immediate explanation and corrective action.

The members wrote:

“These terminations are clearly retaliatory against whistleblowers. These actions represent a troubling and illegal abuse of authority. They are also a violation of the transparency and accountability which must guide any federal agency, regardless of party.”

“The alleged termination of Paul Osadebe and Palmer Heenan, who spoke out about potential civil rights interference from political appointees sends a disturbing message to the American people and other HUD employees that loyalty to the Administration is primary, rather than the Constitution, and the Department’s statutory obligations.”

“We urge you to reverse course immediately and reinstate the attorneys in question. The Department must commit to protecting civil rights enforcement. Regardless of the Administration, we can not ignore retaliation against whistleblowers—nor dismantle civil rights protections for a Department whose key duty is to protect and provide housing opportunities for every American citizen.”

The members also demanded the following actions by HUD:

• Publicly commit to protecting whistleblowers within your department. This includes reinstating Mr. Osadebe and Mr. Heenan pending an independent review of their terminations.
• Provide a written explanation for the decision to terminate each attorney, including a description of the process used, the rationale for each termination, and an explanation of the extent to which media interviews or internal dissent had a role in the decision.
• Confirm whether HUD leadership has undertaken or when HUD plans to initiate any reviews of the enforcement rollback raised by these attorneys and provide a summary of findings if or when available.
• Detail the steps HUD is taking to ensure the enforcement of the Fair Housing Act is prioritized, and independent from political interference.
• Echoing the letter sent to Chairman French Hill and Chairman Tim Scott from Ranking Member Maxine Waters and Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren, on September 30, 2025, we urge HUD to commit to testify before the House Financial Services Committee and the Senate Banking Committee.

The following members signed on to the letter: Rep. Nanette Barragán (CA-44), Rep. Joyce Beatty (OH-3), Rep. Wesley Bell (MO-1), Rep. Sanford Bishop (GA-2), Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (OR-1), Rep. Andre Carson (IN-7), Rep. Troy Carter (LA-2), Rep. Sean Casten (IL-6), Rep. Yvette Clarke (NY-9),  Rep. Jim Costa (CA-21), Rep. Dwight Evans (PA-3), Rep. Sylvia Garcia (TX-29), Rep. Daniel Goldman (NY-10), Rep. Al Green (TX-9), Rep. Jared Huffman (CA-2), Rep. Pramila Jayapal (WA-7), Rep. Hank Johnson (GA-4), Rep. Robin Kelly (IL-2), Rep. Timothy Kennedy (NY-26), Rep. Greg Landsman (OH-1), Rep. Summer Lee (PA-12), Rep. Ted Lieu (CA-36), Rep. Lucy McBath (GA-6), Rep. LaMonica McIver (NJ-10), Rep. Gregory Meeks (NY-5), Rep. Grace Meng (NY-6), Rep. Gwen Moore (WI-4), Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC-At Large), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Rep. Ayannla Pressley (MA-7), Rep. Mike Quigley (IL-5), Rep. Delia Ramirez (IL-3), Rep. Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), Rep. Nydia Velazquez (NY-7), Rep. James Walkinshaw (VA-11), and Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12).

Read the full letter here.