Senate subcommittee presses HUD secretary on FY2026 budget, block-grant proposal and program cuts

Secretary Turner, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development secretary, defended the administration's FY2026 budget request and its plan to reorganize federal housing programs during testimony before the Senate Appropriations subcommittee overseeing HUD funding. Chair Cindy Hyde-Smith opened the hearing by noting the committee's review of the "fiscal year 2026 budget request for the Department of Housing and Urban Development."

The administration's proposal requests $43,500,000,000 for HUD, a figure Secretary Turner described as a "new playbook" intended to increase housing supply and reduce waste. "This budget requests $43,500,000,000 for the department funding critical programs and providing greater fiscal responsibility and restraint," Turner said, adding the proposal would "empower states" through a state-based formula grant that consolidates several rental assistance programs.

The consolidation at issue would roll tenant- and project-based Section 8, public housing, housing for the elderly, and housing for persons with disabilities into a single block grant. Chair Cindy Hyde-Smith warned that the OMB request assumes statutory changes the authorizing committees would need to make, and said the request is, in her words, "33,600,000,000 or 43.6% below the current funding levels." Hyde-Smith also said the consolidated programs currently serve "approximately 4,500,000 households," most of whom are elderly or disabled, and cautioned that shifting decisions to states could disrupt established agreements with local housing authorities and private owners.

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, the subcommittee's ranking member, sharply criticized the proposal, arguing it would "cut HUD in half" and put vulnerable households at risk. "The 2026 budget requests cuts rental and homelessness assistance by over $27,000,000,000, sets time limits on assistance and kicks responsibility for vulnerable families to the states without any detail about how that transition is gonna happen," Gillibrand said, citing estimates in the hearing that about 10% of all rental units'roughly 5,000,000 homes'receive HUD-supported rental assistance. She also emphasized that HUD supports housing finance institutions such as the Federal Housing Administration and Ginnie Mae, and warned of broad economic ripple effects if assistance were sharply reduced.

Senator Patty Murray pressed Turner on staffing cuts and the department's ability to meet legal obligations. Murray asked about the effect of the administration's departures of roughly 2,300 employees under a deferred resignation program; Turner said those departures were voluntary but did not offer detailed operational assurances. Murray also raised ongoing litigation over conditions placed on Continuum of Care grants and said she had heard from grantees that funds were being withheld; Turner declined to discuss details because of active litigation but said, "Our team follows the law and the court order."

Multiple senators questioned whether eliminating programs such as the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME), Section 4 and SHOP capacity-building programs, Family Self-Sufficiency, and ROSS would reduce the federal role in ways that local governments and nonprofits could not readily replace. Hyde-Smith said she was "delighted to see the request continued support for the foster youth independent living initiative," while also warning against the budget's proposal to eliminate certain community development programs.

Secretary Turner framed the budget as a stewardship effort to reduce fraud, waste and abuse, and described a goal of returning flexibility to states and localities. He cited program-level actions HUD has taken since his confirmation, saying the department identified $260,000,000 in savings, $4,000,000 in reduced contracts, and $1,900,000,000 recovered from inactive contracts. Turner also told senators HUD is taking steps to address improper payments and that the department's chief financial officer and related offices are conducting a "top to bottom review" to resolve Inspector General and Government Accountability Office concerns.

Senators raised additional production-focused proposals and local solutions including updating manufactured-housing codes, converting vacant commercial buildings into residential units, identifying underutilized federal lands for housing, and relaunching the federal Pro Housing program to incentivize zoning changes. Turner said HUD had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Department of the Interior to review federal lands and that manufactured housing is a HUD-regulated alternative the department can help update.

The subcommittee also heard specific program-level concerns: members urged protection of emergency housing vouchers and warned of a funding cliff for households who had used those vouchers; they asked for commitments to assist seniors in permanent supportive housing; and several senators urged HUD to work with congressional offices on legislative fixes to voucher portability and landlord participation. The Fortune Society, NYCHA and other local programs were discussed as examples of community partners and sites for potential conversion and wraparound services.

The hearing record includes a letter from the first lady, Melania Trump, supporting the foster youth independent living initiative, which Hyde-Smith entered into the record. The subcommittee requested responses to additional questions within 30 days and recessed subject to the chair's call.

This hearing produced no formal committee votes; senators repeatedly pressed for more detail on the mechanics and legal authority for major changes Turner proposed, and several said they intended to work with the secretary on narrower legislative fixes while opposing the proposed cuts as written.