Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) spending will be scrutinized by a new task force.
HUD secretary Scott Turner announced the launching of a Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) task force to review his agency's budget.
“HUD will be detailed and deliberate about every dollar spent to serve rural, tribal and urban communities,” he said in a Feb. 13 statement. “Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, we are no longer in a business-as-usual posture and the DOGE task force will play a critical role in helping to identify and eliminate waste, fraud and abuse and ultimately better serve the American people. We have already identified over $260 million in savings, and we have more to accomplish.”
Turner became housing secretary on Feb. 5. He appeared on a conservative talk show the following week and said that “$260 million in savings on contracts alone” had been found but did not share details.
HUD employees were recently asked "to justify hundreds of contracts across the agency," reported NPR.
According to a HUD, the new task force will be made up of department employees “who will examine how to best maximize the agency’s budget and ensure all programs, processes and personnel are working together to advance the purpose of the department.”
DOGE was created by Trump by executive order and is led by tech billionaire Elon Musk. Musk's controversial team has been facing a number of lawsuits challenging its authority.
HUD said the task force will meet regularly and report its findings and recommendations to Turner.
In a separate move, the new housing secretary issued an order directing HUD to halt pending or future enforcement actions related to HUD’s rule entitled “Equal Access in Accordance With an Individual’s Gender Identity in Community Planning and Development Programs.”
According to HUD, the “directive stops enforcement of the 2016 rule which, in effect, allowed individuals to self-identify their gender without regard to their biological sex. In addition, the 2016 rule limited the rights and abilities of HUD-funded establishments, including shelters, from challenging an individual’s self-identification, allowing biological men to enter shelters intended for women impacted by trauma, domestic abuse and violence.”
