HUD Secretary Turner Testifies in House Financial Services Committee Oversight Hearing

By NLIHC Policy Team  

The House Committee on Financial Services (HFSC) held a full committee hearing on January 21, “Oversight of the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Federal Housing Administration.” The witness to the hearing was HUD Secretary Scott Turner. 

In his opening statement, Chairman French Hill (R-AK) commended Secretary Turner’s approach to housing under the current administration—describing it as a needed redirection to engage in policies and programs supporting HUD’s mission of delivering safe and accessible housing. Discussing a shortage of housing supply relative to growing demand, Chairman Hill emphasized the committee’s need to address the high cost of living in a bipartisan manner, remove regulatory barriers, and strengthen accountability and oversight of local public housing authorities. Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-CA), on the other hand, described how HUD has been weakened under Secretary Turner’s leadership. Pointing to the halting of fair housing and civil rights investigations and enforcement, closing of regional and field offices, termination of hundreds of HUD employees, and undermining of evidence-based programs proven to reduce homelessness, Ranking Member Waters framed such measures as contributing to the ongoing housing crisis.  

Secretary Turner began his testimony by characterizing HUD’s actions of the past year as expanding opportunities for the American people. Through his account of cutting red tape, providing disaster relief, prioritizing treatment and recovery in homelessness, reviewing who taxpayer dollars support, and internal controls and auditing, Secretary Turner depicted HUD under his leadership as a department promoting efficiency, housing affordability, and enterprise towards achieving greater homeownership. Throughout his remarks, he acknowledged that HUD can only serve one in four eligible families but characterized this gap not as a need for additional investments by Congress but either as a failure of previous management or a rationale for denying assistance to immigrant and mixed status families. Turner also touted his department’s withdrawal of the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule as a matter of returning “local control” over zoning to communities. 

During Q&A, members of Congress highlighted ways that HUD, under Secretary Turner’s leadership, has diminished fair housing enforcement, dramatically reduced staff capacity through voluntary and forced resignations, and has used regulations to dimmish housing access. 

Representative Nydia Velazquez (D-NY) asked Secretary Turner about the leaked mixed status rule (see Memo, 10/6/2025): “A leaked draft of HUD’s proposed mixed status rule is likely to force impacted families to choose between separating as a family to keep their family [housed] or face eviction and potentially, homelessness. Is it HUD’s intention to force families to separate, yes or no?” Though Secretary Turner did not directly answer the question, Velazquez continued: “Mixed status families make up less than 1% of families participating in HUD’s multifamily housing programs and are already paying their fair share. The current rule already prohibits noncitizens from receiving a rent subsidy.” Representative Velazquez entered NLIHC’s article on the rule in the official record.  

Representative Brad Sherman (D-CA) used his line of questioning to expose HUD’s failure to invest Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funding following the Los Angeles wildfires. “Your department has helped fire victims by providing zero dollars and zero cents.” When asked if he supports a CDBG-DR program, Secretary Turner stated he supports CDBG-DR funding for “all of fire, flood and victims of disasters and storms across the country.” 

Representative Frank Lucas (R-OK), along with Representative Troy Downing (R-MT), asked questions about the effectiveness of the “Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996” (NAHASDA) and affirmed commitment to reauthorizing the legislation, which expired in 2013. Secretary Turner expressed his support for HUD’s Office of Native American Programs (ONAP) and mentioned recent visits to Alaska, coordinated in part by the Alaska Coalition on Housing and Homelessness, an NLIHC member.  

Representative Emmanuel Cleaver (D-MO) noted that 81% of people living in public housing are working, and asked Secretary Turner to follow up with his office on the reasoning for HUD’s proposed work requirement rule.   

Representative Al Green (D-TX) highlighted the racist history of housing access, noting that HUD has failed to address housing discrimination and instead fired fair housing staff. Secretary Turner only addressed that 2,400 HUD staff took the Deferral for Resignation Program (DRP), failing to recognize the staff who were fired or put on administrative leave following whistleblower complaints, among other personnel actions. When asked what HUD is doing to prevent housing discrimination, Turner said they’re “investigating real discrimination, not phantom discrimination,” but failed to answer how the agency is upholding the Fair Housing Act.  

Representative Young Kim (R-CA) asked Secretary Turner why the decision was made to shift Continuum of Care funding from a biannual process to an annual process. Turner called the choice a “results-oriented decision.” Representative Kim asked HUD to give the “previous two-year grant recipients priority during any new Notice of Funding Opportunity, because it’s important to recognize they’re great partners that have done a great job and they know their communities best.”  

Representative Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) discussed the fair housing whistleblowers case and defended fair housing attorneys’ rights to enforce protections for survivors of domestic violence and stalking. Tlaib pointed out that failing to enact protections under the “Violence Against Women Act” is against the law and asked for Turner to commit to returning fair housing staff who have been reassigned. Turner did not make such a commitment. 

Representatives Waters (D-CA), Presley (D-MA), Green (D-TX), Tlaib (D-MI), and Casten (D-IL) all pressed Secretary Turner on the number of HUD employees dismissed under his leadership. Turner stated repeatedly that 2,400 employees had separated voluntarily through the Deferred Resignation Program and would not acknowledge nonvoluntary separations through Reductions in Force, dismissal of probationary employees, etc. 

Several members of Congress touted their support for the “Housing for the 21st Century Act,” referencing reforms in the bill for manufactured homes, among other provisions. Representative Andy Barr (R-KY) touted his Housing PLUS Act, noting that it “prohibits HUD from restricting CoC funds to providers that provide wraparound services.” NLIHC opposes the bill. 

Read Secretary Turner’s testimony and view the hearing here.