Chicago – May 24, 2026
Republican lawmakers are publicly criticizing White House proposals to scrap federal programs that help build and rehabilitate housing for low-income Americans ahead of a midterm election dominated by affordability frustrations.
President Donald Trump’s proposed budget last month suggested entirely cutting housing and community development funds used by state and local governments to improve neighborhood conditions and boost housing supply.
As Capitol Hill kicks off its own budget season, Republicans have advanced a spending bill retaining the grants and are working with Democrats to pass housing affordability legislation that would build on those programs.
“I am disappointed to see [the Office of Management and Budget] propose the elimination of these important programs,” Senate Transportation-HUD Appropriations Subcommittee chair Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) told Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner at a hearing last week reviewing the administration’s request to cut $10.7 billion from his budget — a 13 percent reduction to its discretionary spending.
The cost of living is a defining issue in the 2026 elections. Congress is hoping housing affordability will be a bipartisan project it can tackle before the midterms. And Republicans are working to show they are focused on Americans’ economic wellbeing.
The president’s budget proposal seeks to entirely eliminate long-standing HUD programs including the Community Development Block Grant and HOME Investment Partnerships. Those programs provide billions in flexible funding that states and localities can use to improve neighborhood conditions and boost housing supply.
The administration argued in its proposed budget that the grant programs have been misused to fund ideologically liberal initiatives, citing projects that prioritized energy sustainability or included diversity, equity and inclusion goals.
