HUD launches DOGE task force amid mass layoffs

The Trump Administration is eying $260 million in cuts to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. 

New HUD Secretary Scott Turner said this week he'll launch a Department of Government Efficiency Task Force, composed of HUD employees, to scrutinize every dollar across the agency. Thursday's press release mentioned the nine-figure savings, but did not specify regarding job cuts that are affecting numerous other federal agencies. 

"Thanks to President Trump's leadership, we are no longer in a business-as-usual posture and the DOGE task force will play a critical role in helping to identify and eliminate waste, fraud and abuse and ultimately better serve the American people," said Turner in the press release. 

The task force will meet regularly and report its findings to Turner. According to other reports, HUD will cut 50% of its roughly 9,600 workforce and DOGE is asking staff to justify hundreds of contracts. 

The cuts will affect workers which, among other functions, enforce civil rights laws and compile housing market data, Antonio Gaines, president of the AFGE National Council 222 union for HUD employees, told Bloomberg Law Thursday. Gaines also told the publication the Federal Housing Administration was excluded from cuts. 

Separately, a DOGE senior adviser previously emailed HUD workers to justify department contracts, asking whether they were mission-critical and if they had Diversity, Equity and Inclusion components, according to a report by South Dakota Public Broadcasting. 

Gaines did not return a request for comment Friday morning. 

The alleged layoffs threaten thousands of community development organizations that rely on federal resources to build affordable housing, the Community Opportunity Alliance said Friday. 

"Cutting its workforce without a plan to maintain essential functions risks making it harder — not easier — for organizations to invest in communities effectively and efficiently," said Frank Woodruff, executive director of the Community Opportunity Alliance.

The moves follow major shakeups at other government agencies, including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Acting CFPB Director Russell Vought, who has sought to defang the regulator, has already laid off over 100 employees and terminated 150 contracts. The contracts include personnel responsible for consumer complaints, and expert witnesses scheduled to testify in CFPB litigation. 

The VA meanwhile announced this week the dismissal of over 1,000 workers, which will reportedly save it more than $98 million per year. The department said it employs over 43,000 probationary staff , but most are exempt from the latest actions because they're in "mission-critical" commissions or covered by a collective bargaining agreement. 

The announcement didn't say whether VA-employees in mortgage-related roles were impacted. It's also unclear if layoffs reported Friday at the U.S. Department of Agriculture included any of the department's Rural Development workers. 

The Trump Administration's mass layoffs have already been met with legal challenges, including a suit by employees with the CFPB's union to halt Vought's efforts. The City of Baltimore Wednesday also filed sued against the CFPB and Vought, suggesting their proposed lack of bureau funding would compromise consumer protections.