The new look of the Department of Housing and Urban Development is beginning to take shape, but key leadership vacancies remain.
The Trump administration this week nominated current HUD Chief of Staff Andrew Hughes to serve as deputy secretary, under Secretary Scott Turner. Hughes was former HUD secretary Ben Carson’s chief of staff during President Trump’s first term, and was most recently the executive director and CEO of the American Cornerstone Institute, a think tank founded by Carson.
The nominee worked for Carson’s presidential campaign in 2016, and in the past was a university employee and an Uber driver, according to reports. It’s unclear if Hughes has any other experience in housing.
Mortgage Bankers Association President and CEO Bob Broeksmit congratulated Hughes, lauding his previous experience at the department.
“We also look forward to engaging with HUD’s leadership to address challenges and opportunities within the agency, including improving technology and efficiency and ensuring FHA remains a viable financing option for single-family and multifamily markets,” said Broeksmit in a statement.
HUD has yet to tap a commissioner for the Federal Housing Administration under its purview, as the department undergoes an overhaul driven by the Department of Government Efficiency’s budget cuts. Trump has also yet to tap a Ginnie Mae president. Gregory Keith, a senior vice president and chief risk officer who’s been at Ginnie Mae since 2010, is listed as its highest-ranking official.
HUD’s principal directory lists 55 vacancies, including a chief operating officer, senior counsel, and secretaries overseeing fair housing and public and Indian housing.
Under Turner’s early leadership, the department has touted its implementation of initiatives that are in line with the Trump Administration’s push to reverse Biden-era policies.
HUD on Tuesday stated it would withhold a $225 million disaster relief grant to Asheville, North Carolina for Hurricane Helene recovery over its diversity, equity and inclusion criteria. The department highlighted a line in the report in which the city said it would prioritize assistance for minority and women-owned businesses under a scoring criteria.
“Asheville’s draft action plan incorporated DEI criteria to prioritize some impacted residents over others, which was unacceptable,” the press release said. “After HUD informed Asheville that its plan was unsatisfactory and it would not be approved, the city assured us that it was updating its draft action plan to be compliant.”
The release reiterated Turner’s statement that “DEI is dead at HUD” in compliance with Trump’s initiatives on the issue. DOGE so far has terminated six HUD contracts worth a combined $7.3 million which it identified as DEI-related.
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