According to reports, the Trump administration is looking to reduce the size of the federal government by downsizing the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) workforce by 50%. Antonio Gaines, president of HUD Council 222 for American Federation of Government Employees, shared that certain divisions within HUD may see significant cuts in staff numbers. However, it is expected that Federal Housing Administration will not be affected.
Gaines also mentioned that offices responsible for monitoring housing and employment discrimination are likely to face a reduction in staff by 75%. Other departments such as Office of Policy Development and Research – which collects data on U.S. housing market – and Office of Community Planning and Development – which offers affordable housing programs, homelessness assistance, disaster recovery services- are also facing deep reductions.
As per NPR’s report last Friday (date), there has been no official announcement from HUD regarding these staffing changes yet. The timing for possible layoffs remains unclear at this point.
Gaines revealed his sources were anonymous officials from HUD who informed him about these cuts. He expressed concerns over how these actions could impact services like housing vouchers or grants provided to rural hospitals stating “It’s pretty devastating…huge disruptions in services can be expected.”
Housing Secretary Scott Turner stated he had launched a DOGE task force aimed at reviewing departmental spending practices saying “We are no longer operating under business-as-usual approach…the DOGE task force will play an important role in identifying waste,fraud,and abuse while better serving Americans.”
According to Gaines’ understanding any non-mandatory programs might face elimination due congressional statute requirements being prioritized.He pointed out Project 2025 written during Ben Carson’s tenure as first secretary called for transferring some functions performed by department into other federal agencies,state or local governments .
However,a program enacted through Congress seems headed towards termination: Green & Resilient Retrofit Program created via Inflation Reduction Act(2022). This program has awarded over $1 billion to private companies for upgrading apartment buildings occupied by HUD-subsidized tenants, making them more energy efficient. A HUD staffer told NPR the Trump administration plans to terminate this program.
Shaun Donovan, former secretary of HUD who now heads Enterprise Community Partners shared his concerns with NPR “Record high housing costs are putting pressure on families across the country…arbitrary cuts in staff and funding will only destabilize our housing system and increase costs for both renters and owners.”
