U.S. Housing & Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Scott Turner addressed the House Appropriations Committee’s Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Subcommittee in support of President Trump’s 2026 Budget for HUD.
HUD’s request for new budget authority in FY26 is $33.2 billion, a $35.5 billion decrease from the FY25 enacted level. The Department also uses mortgage guarantee fees from the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and Ginnie Mae to offset its spending.
“As of April, the national median home price is $414,000 … up from more than $341,000 in April of 2021—marking a huge increase of more than 21%. And the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate is almost 7%, nearly double the rate in 2019,” said Secretary Scott in his testimony. “The numbers don’t lie: It became significantly harder to own a home due to the policies of the Biden administration. Simply put, we need a new playbook.”
Advocating for President Trump’s FY 2026 Discretionary Budget, HUD Secretary Turner added: “It requests $34.5 billion for the Department. But more than that, it represents the clear balance between funding mission critical programs and much-needed fiscal restraint. It carries out President Trump’s Day One Presidential Memorandum to decrease the cost and increase the supply of affordable housing. We will maximize whatever funds Congress gives us, whether it’s $10 billion or just $10.”
Measuring the Budgetary Impact on Housing
Trump’s FY 2026 Discretionary Budget Request focuses on several HUD programs, including:
- Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program: The Budget proposes to eliminate the CDBG program, which provides formula grants to more than 1,200 state and local governments for a wide range of community and economic development activities. Cutting the CDBG program will save an estimated $3.3 billion according to the Budget Request.
- HOME Investment Partnerships Program: The Budget seeks to eliminate the HOME program, a formula grant that provides state and local governments with funding to expand the supply of housing. Cutting the HOME program will save an estimated $1.25 billion annually.
- Native American Programs and Native Hawaiian Housing Block Grant: The FY 2026 Budget streamlines housing assistance for Native American programs and focusing available resources on the main formula grant to Tribes. Consistent with similar FY Budget proposals eliminating housing programs, the Native Hawaiian Housing Block Grant would be eliminating, saving approximately $480 million annually.
- Homeless Assistance Program Consolidations: The FY 2026 Budget consolidates the Continuum of Care and Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS programs into a more targeted Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) program that provides short- and medium-term housing assistance, capped at two years, to homeless and at-risk individuals. Approximately $532 million would be saved by consolidating these homeless assistance programs.
- Surplus Lead Hazard Reduction and Healthy Homes Funding: This set of programs has unobligated balances that should be depleted prior to receiving further appropriations, and would save approximately $296 million annually if cuts are approved.
- HUD Self-Sufficiency Programs: HUD’s “Self-Sufficiency Programs” were designed to promote self-sufficiency among housing assistance recipients. Cutting these programs would save $196 million annually.
- Pathways to Removing Obstacles (PRO) Housing: Consistent with the Executive Order 14151, “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing,” the FY 2026 Budget proposes to eliminate PRO Housing, which was used by the Biden administration to advance equity through affordable housing development programs. Cutting PRO Housing from the FY 2026 Budget would save an approximate $100 million annually.
- Fair Housing Grants: The Budget looks to save $60 million annually through the elimination of the Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP), which provides competitive grants to public and private fair housing organizations to advocate against single-family neighborhoods and promote radical equity policies. The Budget also seeks to eliminate the National Fair Housing Training Academy, which provides training for Fair Housing Assistance Program (FHAP) and FHIP professionals as well as funding to translate HUD materials to languages other than English.
Taking Aim at Cuts
Among the cuts to HUD’s budget in Trump’s FY 2026 Discretionary Budget Request includes the elimination of programs such as the self-sufficiency program, which is a type of rental assistance for families in need. Some programs would be eliminated by HUD completely, such as the HOME Investment Partnerships Program, a grant that provides low-income housing, and the Pathways to Removing Obstacles Housing, which provides competitive need-based grants. Of the reduction of nearly $33 billion in funds to HUD, nearly $27 billion is in State Rental Assistance Block Grants alone.
“These programmatic changes need to go through the authorizing committees, particularly the proposals to block grant assistance to the states and the dramatic changes to how we combat homelessness in America,” noted House Appropriations Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD) Subcommittee Chair Sen. Steve Womack at the hearing. “These ambitious proposals require an ‘all-in’ effort. I welcome ongoing dialogue with our authorized colleagues. HUD’s programs should work better for the American people. You and I have discussed how there is fat to cut at HUD. But if we cut too deep and too fast, HUD’s programs will not serve the communities you and I want to help.”
Secretary Turner responded by explaining states will have more power and take more responsibility in terms of housing the nation.
“I stated in my opening remarks that status quo is not good enough, and the way that we’ve been going about serving the American people, from a HUD perspective, is no longer good enough,” said Secretary Turner. “With this new paradigm, and it is indeed a paradigm shift, it’s a culture shift. The goal here is not to serve less Americans … the goal here is to serve Americans better, and so to give states an opportunity to have skin in the game, to identify their unique needs, and then to be very deliberative about how they put the resources out what as it pertains to rental assistance, and taking care of the most vulnerable in their state.”
Click here for more on HUD Secretary’s appearance before the House Appropriations Committee’s Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Subcommittee in support of President Trump’s 2026 Budget for HUD.
