Warren Sounds Alarm as Watchdog Report Reveals HUD Staffing and Funding Failures, Sends Letter to HUD Secretary on Gutting of Civil Rights Office

Warren Sounds Alarm as Watchdog Report Reveals HUD Staffing and Funding Failures, Sends Letter to HUD Secretary on Gutting of Civil Rights Office

New Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, requested by Senate Banking Committee Ranking Member Warren, shows precipitous staffing drop, withholding of Congressionally-appropriated housing funds

GAO report (GAO website) | Text of Warren Letter to Turner (PDF)

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, released the following statement on today's report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), detailing the Trump Administration's draconian cuts to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) since President Trump took office:

"While Americans are suffering under sky-high housing costs and rising interest rates, this new report from the Congressional watchdog reveals that the Trump Administration is slashing housing program staff and illegally refusing to fund grants that help boost housing supply. Trump's draconian cuts mean that more Americans have fallen behind on rent, housing quality is getting worse, and enforcement against housing discrimination is all but eliminated. Secretary Scott Turner and his department must immediately reverse course."

The GAO report detailed:

• "HUD's workforce decreased by 29 percent" under the Trump Administration, resulting in programmatic delays and confusion among stakeholders that deliver housing and services to the American people.
• "Of the 68 HUD programs that made new grant awards from FY 2016 through FY 2024, 32 made new awards in FY 2025," resulting in less federal funding to help boost housing supply and end housing discrimination.
• Fair housing enforcement organizations had to reduce or end services while HUD delayed rental assistance payments that led to delayed or reduced routine housing maintenance.

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Additionally, Senator Warren wrote to Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Scott Turner and Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Craig Trainor, reiterating concerns that the Department continues to defy its obligation to enforce civil rights and fair housing laws. The Ranking Member's letter follows Assistant Secretary Trainor's response to the Ranking Member's previous inquiries regarding HUD's gutting of fair housing enforcement.

The letter also comes in light of numerous whistleblower complaints over the past year - some of which were the subject of Senator Warren's letter to the HUD Inspector General last September - about the Department's failure to enforce civil rights and fair housing statutes.

"After HUD's repeated failure to respond to congressional inquiries about its fair housing activities, Assistant Secretary Trainor sent me a letter on Secretary Turner's behalf stating that HUD is 'fully committed to enforcing the Fair Housing Act and other relevant civil rights statutes as written and enacted by Congress,'" wrote Ranking Member Warren. "But that claim has now been directly and repeatedly contradicted by current and former HUD employees."

"Even today, a new report from the independent watchdog Government Accountability Office (GAO) has determined that HUD's staffing capacity is not sufficient for its duties," the Ranking Member continued. "The report makes clear that civil rights enforcement has suffered as a result."

"According to current and former HUD employees, HUD is failing to meaningfully enforce these statutes. In 2025, for example, I received documents from whistleblowers in HUD's Office of Fair Housing…and its Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO)," wrote Ranking Member Warren. "These documents described deeply disturbing allegations about illegal actions, debilitating staff reductions, a verbal gag order, and political interference with existing cases."

"Assistant Secretary Trainor's letter stated that HUD is 'fully committed to enforcing the Fair Housing Act and other relevant civil rights statutes as written and enacted by Congress.' It also touted the Department's 'detailed and deliberate approach' to fair housing and described the agency's 'commitment to fair housing enforcement, operational excellence, and responsible stewardship of public funds,'" the Ranking Member continued. "The vast majority of these claims, however, have been directly contradicted by current and former HUD staffers and the agency's own actions."

"Writ large, the Trump Administration has prioritized further eliminating staff at HUD, exacerbating resource challenges," Ranking Member Warren concluded. "In September, whistleblowers warned of significant reductions to the OFH and FHEO workforce, a concern echoed once again by whistleblowers in April. According to a current employee, 'FHEO has lost more than 50% of its staff since January 2025, and they are still trying to shrink us.'"

The Ranking Member requested answers to questions about HUD's troubling failure to enforce fair housing and civil rights laws by October 28, 2026.

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