As Trump jettisons its staff, HUD puts its D.C. headquarters up for sale
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is looking for a smaller, cheaper building for its headquarters. It’s part of a larger Trump administration push to shrink not only the number of federal employees, but also the office spaces where they work.
In announcing the plan, the agency said its 1968 building in Washington, D.C., currently faces over $500 million in deferred “maintenance and modernization.” It said current staff occupy only half the space and that relocating will “reduce the burden on the American taxpayer.”
HUD Secretary Scott Turner has also called the massive, curved Brutalist structure “the ugliest building in D.C.“
“HUD’s focus is on creating a workplace that reflects the values of efficiency, accountability, and purpose,” Turner said in a statement. “We’re committed to rightsizing government operations … to deliver results for the American people.”
The agency did not say how much it’s asking for the building.
DOGE, the cost-cutting team overseen by billionaire Elon Musk, has targeted cutting HUD staff by half, according to an internal document seen by NPR.
HUD headquarters, formally called the Robert C. Weaver Federal Building, is now up for sale, although that could be complicated by its listing in the National Register of Historic Places. The agency said a timeline and final location are not yet set, but that “the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area remains a top priority.”
HUD headquarters is near a busy metro stop in downtown D.C. But this week, President Trump gave federal agencies more flexibility to locate outside of city centers. He revoked two previous orders, by Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, that had encouraged agencies to locate in business districts and historic properties.
Trump’s order said those past measures “prevented agencies from relocating to lower-cost facilities,” and that agencies “must be where the people are.”
Mentally ill people are stuck in jail because they can’t get treatment. Here’s what’s to know
Hundreds of people across Alabama await a spot in the state’s increasingly limited facilities, despite a consent decree requiring the state to address delays in providing care for people who are charged with crimes but deemed too mentally ill to stand trial. But seven years since the federal agreement, the problem has only worsened.
Ivey appoints Will Parker to Alabama Supreme Court
Parker fills the court seat vacated by Bill Lewis who was tapped by President Donald Trump for a federal judgeship. The U.S. Senate last month confirmed Lewis as a U.S. district judge.
How Alabama Power kept bills up and opposition out to become one of the most powerful utilities in the country
In one of the poorest states in America, the local utility earns massive profits producing dirty energy with almost no pushback from state regulators.
No more Elmo? APT could cut ties with PBS
The board that oversees Alabama Public Television is considering disaffiliating from PBS, ending a 55-year relationship.
Nonprofit erases millions in medical debt across Gulf South, says it’s ‘Band-Aid’ for real issue
Undue Medical Debt has paid off more than $299 million in medical debts in Alabama. Now, the nonprofit warns that the issue could soon get worse.
Roy Wood Jr. on his father, his son and his new book
Actor, comedian and writer Roy Wood Jr. is out with a new book -- "The Man of Many Fathers: Life Lessons Disguised as a Memoir." He writes about his experience growing up in Birmingham, losing his dad as a teenager and all the lessons he learned from various father figures throughout his career.
