Washington, D.C. – The Trump Administration is expected to terminate half of all employees at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
“President Trump’s directive will cause more people across the nation – in rural, urban, and suburban communities alike – to struggle to afford high housing costs and be at risk of housing instability, eviction, and, in the worst cases, homelessness,” said NLIHC President and CEO Renee Willis. “At a time when housing costs are far out of reach for renters and when homelessness is at an all-time high, our communities cannot afford for the Trump administration to decimate the federal agency tasked with helping low-income households remain stably housed.”
Terminating HUD staff will make it significantly harder for states and communities to access the congressionally approved federal investments needed to address their most pressing housing and homelessness challenges, including key federal resources used to:
- Provide rental assistance to help low-income households afford their homes.
- Build and preserve affordable rental housing for low-income households.
- Address and prevent homelessness, which has reached its highest level on record.
- Operate and maintain public housing and other affordable housing for millions of seniors, people with disabilities, and families with young children.
- Revitalize neighborhoods, promote economic development, and improve community facilities, including infrastructure and services in low-income communities.
- Reform restrictive zoning and land use regulations that inflate housing costs.
- Investigate and enforce fair housing and civil rights laws.
- Rebuild housing and infrastructure after major disasters and mitigate future harm.
As a direct consequence, homeless shelters will close their doors, communities will stop construction on new projects to build housing and community centers, households receiving rental assistance will face immediate rent increases and evictions, and communities, families, and small businesses impacted by disasters will be unable to rebuild.
“Everyone has a stake in this cruel attempt to decimate HUD, undermine housing justice, exacerbate racial and social inequities, and worsen America’s housing and homelessness crisis. No community is immune to the harmful impacts of President Trump’s actions,” said Willis.