Concerns are rising that major cuts will take place at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
Leading Democratic senators sent a letter demanding that HUD stop further staff cuts at the agency, saying staff reductions would further exacerbate the housing crisis and prevent HUD from meeting critical functions.
The move follows reports that the department fired hundreds of probationary employees Feb. 14 and is planning to cut the workforce by 50% or nearly 4,300 people, according to Sens. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), and Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).
“Between 2012-2019, HUD’s staffing levels fell by over 20%,” reads the letter. “During that time, independent audits from the HUD Office of Inspector General and U.S. Government Accountability Office repeatedly pointed to capacity gaps across HUD. This includes not having enough staff to support communities devastated by disasters, not having enough staff to meet HUD’s legal obligations under the Fair Housing Act, and not having enough staff to process applications that would allow for more housing to be built faster.”
Congress has worked to address the inadequacies through the annual appropriations bill, according to the senators, noting that HUD’s staffing capacity was near its 2012 levels when Turner took office Feb. 5.
“So much of that hard-fought progress has been wiped away in less than three weeks, and between the deferred resignation program and termination of probationary employees, overall staffing levels will be cut by 13% at HUD,” says the letter.
The call for the agency to cease cuts comes amid reports that HUD has not taken steps to distribute $3.6 billion in Continuum of Care program awards that were announced in January. The awards support local efforts to end homelessness.
Housing advocates are also concerned that other funding, including pending Green and Resilient Retrofit Program and Section 202 awards announced late last year, have not been disbursed.
HUD did not respond to an inquiry about potential layoffs.
On the House of Representatives side, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), the top Democrat on the Financial Services Committee, is also sounding an alarm about cuts at HUD.
“I am not surprised to see reports that Trump, HUD secretary Scott Turner, and the DOGE Ketamine Klan have plans to decimate the federal agency charged with creating affordable housing, ending homelessness and illegal discrimination, and strengthening communities,” Waters says.
“Last Congress, Republicans started their attacks on HUD with bills meant to eliminate programs in the name of efficiency and to slash federal housing funds, which make up less than 1% of all federal spending. In fact, continued reports of funding freezes among HUD grantees despite a temporary court-ordered restraining order, as well as this latest reporting on plans to cut HUD’s staff by at least half, is a continuation of Trump and co-president Elon Musk’s illegal attack on our most vulnerable populations.”
She vowed the committee Democrats would fight to defend HUD programs.
Shaun Donovan, president and CEO of Enterprise Community Partners, is also expressing concern about cuts at the agency, which he led during the Obama administration. Donovan also served as the White House budget director.
“Record high housing costs are putting the squeeze on families in every part of this country—from big cities to the suburbs to rural and Tribal lands and everywhere in between,” Donovan says. “At a time of record high inflation, housing is the largest component of cost growth in America. Arbitrarily severing funding streams and firing professional, impartial staff will only serve to destabilize our housing system and drive up costs for both renters and owners.”
In addition to assisting residents, HUD provides crucial funding to housing owners, notes Donovan.
“Today, escalating costs are putting owners, developers, builders, and mission-driven housing providers under intense financial strain, with some going bankrupt, effectively cutting our affordable housing supply at a time we can ill-afford to lose a single home,” says the former HUD secretary. “Disruptions to vital government financing will only further the crisis that threatens to pull the rug out from under our national housing system.”
In a note to National Multifamiy Housing Council members, president Sharon Wilson Géno also addressed the rumored cuts.
“The nation is facing a serious housing shortage, and HUD programs play an important role in the development and rehabilitation of housing, just as they support people of modest means through Section 8 and other programs in existing properties,” she said. “Going forward, NMHC hopes that Secretary Turner and the administration will consider the important role these programs play in addressing housing affordability challenges and work to continue these programs in an uninterrupted, consistent, and efficient manner in alignment with HUD’s mission and guiding principles.”
On Feb. 13, Turner announced that a Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) task force is being launched to review HUD spending. The task force will be composed of HUD 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.
The move comes after President Trump signed an executive order calling for agency heads to work with the new DOGE to shrink the workforce and limit hiring to essential positions.
Agencies will undertake plans for large-scale reductions in force and determine which agency components (or agencies themselves) may be eliminated or combined because their functions aren’t required by law, says the White House.
Also on Feb. 13, Bloomberg Law reported that HUD’s union president said that HUD is planning to fire 50% of its workforce. The story said the cuts will be “in the offices that enforce civil rights laws, compile data about the housing market, and pay to rebuild communities after disasters.”
The Federal Housing Administration is expected to be excluded, according to the report.
“There is a right way to address waste and fraud,” adds Donovan. “Republicans and Democrats alike in Congress and leaders in the private sector, including at organizations like ours, are ready to invest, cut through red tape, and support a HUD that promotes commonsense solutions while tamping down costs. But chaotic cuts can and will have painful consequences for families and the economy.”
