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Miami Herald
11 hours ago
- Politics
- Miami Herald
‘I would be homeless': 4,100+ disabled Miamians could lose housing under Trump budget
Blessed. That's how David Murray described himself as he hobbled around his crowded living room, jabbing his cane at the healthy collections of stuffed animals and constructed Lego figurines he keeps around for his dozen-plus grandkids. Their pictures — some framed, others taped bare — adorn the walls of his rent-subsidized apartment in Miami. It's one of Miami-Dade County's more than 4,100 units of permanent supportive housing — mostly federally funded dwellings that provide rental assistance and support services to once-homeless people with disabilities. Thousands of Miamians live in such housing. Without it, many of them would be homeless again. And they might soon be without it. Per the Trump administration's 2026 budget blueprint, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which funds many of the country's homelessness service providers, could see its budget nearly halved at a time when homelessness in America is at a record high. The proposal represents a stark departure from decades of federal housing and homelessness policy, advocates say. It plans to defund permanent supportive housing, the keystone of a widely held and data-supported theory that argues the best way to keep people out of homelessness is to quickly place them in stable housing and give them access to support services. More than 300,000 people live in permanent supportive housing across the U.S. All of them are disabled and had been chronically homeless. That theory, called Housing First, offers services to people with substance abuse or mental health issues but doesn't require them to resolve those problems before receiving permanent housing. The White House considers that model enabling. Instead, the Trump administration wants to fund short-term, time-bound housing solutions, like shelters, where people experiencing homelessness must first deal with whatever underlying issues they face before being eligible for long-term housing support. While the White House purports that its plan is best poised to 'eliminate street homelessness,' advocates are sounding the alarm. Just under 900 people sleep on Miami-Dade's streets, according to the county government. But if the federal budget is implemented on Oct. 1 as it's currently written, the thousands of people with disabilities living in permanent supportive housing — many of whom are seniors or veterans or, like Murray, both — could lose their homes and fall back into homelessness, threatening an explosion in the number of people sleeping on the county's streets. If he loses his apartment, Murray, 67, fears he could be one of them. At one point, he was. It was the late 1990s, and Murray, a welder, tore his meniscus. He blamed the injury on lingering knee damage sustained during Air Force basic training that never quite healed and on his physically taxing job. Unable to walk properly, Murray was fired. 'I lost my career,' he recalled. In its definition of 'homeless,' Congress includes those who sleep in places 'not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings.' That includes places like the unventilated garage that Murray moved into with his oldest son. They shared it, through sweltering heat waves and punishing hurricanes, for more than a decade as Murray, unable to work, grappled with chronic pain and depression. 'I got so frustrated. I couldn't pay for anything,' he said, squeezing his cane. 'I couldn't take my kids out on the weekend. We couldn't do anything.' It was only 12 years ago that Murray again had his own place — a two-bedroom apartment in Little Haiti that he shares with his wife and one of his sons and for which he pays $618 a month. Murray's apartment is subsidized by permanent supportive housing dollars. 'I'm so grateful, so thankful to be in this building,' he said, admiring through the living room window the treetops that shade Little Haiti. 'I love it here, my family loves it here.' The barebones budget In his 2026 federal budget request, Trump proposed nearly $33 billion in cuts to the Department of Housing and Urban Development — roughly 45% of the agency's resources. As part of that reduction, it seeks to eliminate the $3.7 billion 'Continuum of Care' initiative that funds local service provider networks — in Miami-Dade's case, the Homeless Trust. Those continuums often include some combination of local government, businesses, nonprofit service providers like shelters, and even religious organizations. The idea was that diverse groups of stakeholders could better account for a community's homelessness needs than, say, state or local governments alone. Per the budget proposal, the Continuum program's funding will merge with that of a program providing housing for people with AIDS and be rolled under the umbrella of a short- to medium-term housing initiative known as the Emergency Solutions Grant. That pays for crisis interventions — taking people off the streets and putting them in shelters, funding those shelters and placing homeless people in temporary housing that's capped at two years. What the Emergency Solutions Grant explicitly does not fund: permanent supportive housing. Those changes might seem largely administrative, but they're representative of a major shift in homelessness policy, said Ned Murray (no relation to David Murray), who focuses on affordable housing in South Florida as associate director of Florida International University's Metropolitan Institute. Housing First vs. treatment first Homeless services providers have long held to Housing First as the most effective method for keeping people off the streets. 'The evidence is overwhelming' that the model is successful, said Ann Oliva, CEO of the National Alliance to End Homelessness. Such housing programs, Oliva said, have never received sufficient funding to end homelessness in America, which is at an all-time high. So scrapping Housing First on the argument that it's ineffective 'is very much like saying people keep getting sick, so the emergency room doesn't work,' she quipped. The Trump administration has instead adopted an approach that requires homeless people to deal with whatever substance or mental health issues they may be facing before entering stable, long-term housing. Vicki Mallette, executive director of Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust, is skeptical of such a policy's efficacy. 'If we wait for people [sleeping] on bus stops and street corners to solve problems that may have lasted decades, we're not going to reduce' homelessness, she said at a recent Trust board meeting. 'We're going to be trying to make perfect people,' she added, and working against 'what it is we really want: fewer people experiencing homelessness.' Homeless Trust Chairman Ron Book put it more bluntly: 'Doing away with Housing First is ridiculous. It's a terrible idea.' The Homeless Trust reports that between 97% and 99% of people it places in permanent supportive housing remain there stably for at least two years. Under the proposed budget, those who do enter medium-term housing will have no more than two years to figure out a more permanent living situation for themselves. But for someone coming out of chronic homelessness, especially someone who's disabled, that's often not enough time to become self-sufficient, said Stephanie Berman-Eisenberg, president of Carrfour Supportive Housing, which develops and manages permanent supportive housing projects in Miami-Dade, including the one Kim Miller lives in. Miller, 68, left her 30-year career as a pharmacy tech to care for her mother, who was succumbing to dementia. That was 13 years ago. Since then, Miller emptied her retirement savings to cover her late mother's medical costs and moved out of her house into a shared apartment — which she and her roommate had to leave after they couldn't keep up with rising rent. But Miller got lucky. Before ending up on the streets, she was placed in a Carrfour-operated building for permanent supportive housing, where she pays $500 a month in rent. 'I think it's the best thing in the world that happened to me,' she reflected. The building's coordinator, Kenneshia Sparks, thinks many of her residents would 'absolutely' fall back into homelessness if their stays were limited to two years. 'We can't put a timing on mental health,' she said, noting that some people require years of assistance to reach stability. But under the Trump administration's budget proposal, those who can't hold down a steady job and live without support services after that two-year cap could be on their own — potentially back out on the streets, said Berman-Eisenberg. And that's expensive. Financing the repeated, short-term interventions that accompany higher levels of street homelessness is far more costly than simply getting people into stable housing and caring for them there, said Leeanne Sacino, executive director of the Florida Coalition to End Homelessness. And while Housing First programs benefit from the federal government's purchasing power, the relatively high cost of short-term interventions falls squarely on local communities, whose hospital and criminal justice systems will shoulder much of the burden at local taxpayers' expense. To keep someone jailed in Miami-Dade runs the county about $300 per inmate per day — nearly $105,000 per year. For them to stay overnight in the hospital costs even more — at least $2,200 per day, the Homeless Trust estimates. And, upon leaving either, 'they're still homeless,' Sacino pointed out, 'so I really don't get it.' By contrast, the Homeless Trust reports that it spends roughly $80 a day per permanent supportive housing unit, many of which house multiple people, including the 14% of units that lodge families with children. But it's a hard financial — and political — lift for the local government to fill the $50 million federal funding gap for permanent supportive housing. 'For so long, the federal government has been the main source of support,' said U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson, a Democrat who represents the northern parts of Miami-Dade County. 'With that funding disappearing and no one stepping in to fill the gap, I fear we're headed for a real crisis.' None of the county's Republican representatives in the U.S. House responded to the Herald's multiple requests for comment. Should the Miamians in the 4,000-plus federally funded homes lose their housing subsidies, it's unclear where they'll go. 'I'm on overload,' said Book. 'My shelters are full.' Though the Homeless Trust is working to stand up additional emergency beds and housing units, they won't be enough to accommodate all those in permanent supportive housing. Asked if he thought the number of people sleeping on Miami-Dade's streets would increase if this version of the budget is implemented, Book answered: 'I would be extremely concerned about what our community will look like should things get adopted as proposed.' That concern is all too real for Murray, Miller and the thousands of other disabled Miamians who might be returned to homelessness. 'What would I do if [housing provider Carrfour] didn't help me? Where would I go?' Murray wondered aloud. 'I would be homeless again,' he figured, his eyes settling on something in the middle distance. 'I would be homeless again.' This story was produced with financial support from supporters including The Green Family Foundation Trust and Ken O'Keefe, in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners. The Miami Herald maintains full editorial control of this work.
Atlantic
a day ago
- Politics
- Atlantic
‘We Want God Writing the Laws of the Land'
After wildfires erupted in Los Angeles County earlier this year, a team from the Department of Housing and Urban Development descended on the wreckage. Led by HUD Secretary Scott Turner, the entourage walked through the rubble in Altadena, reassuring victims that the Trump administration had their back. At Turner's request, a Christian-nationalist musician named Sean Feucht tagged along. 'I can't overemphasize how amazing this opportunity is,' Feucht had posted on Instagram the day before. 'I'm bringing my guitar. We're going to worship. We're going to pray.' Feucht has recently become a MAGA superstar. He tours the country holding rallies that blend upbeat Christian-rock songs with sermons that tie in his right-wing political views. Between praising President Donald Trump as God's chosen one and suggesting that abortion supporters are 'demons,' Feucht has repeatedly advocated for the fusion of Church and state. During a performance in front of the Wisconsin statehouse in 2023, Feucht paused after a song to make a proclamation: 'Yeah, we want God in control of government,' he said. 'We want God writing the laws of the land.' He has held rallies at all 50 state capitols, spreading similar theocratic messages. Feucht did not respond to multiple requests for comment. At times, he has denied being a Christian nationalist, but it can be hard to take that perspective seriously. Last year, he overtly embraced the term at a church in Tulsa, Oklahoma. 'That's why we get called, Well, you're Christian nationalists. You want the kingdom to be the government? Yes! You want God to come and overtake the government? Yes! You want Christians to be the only ones? Yes, we do,' Feucht said. 'We want God to be in control of everything,' he continued. 'We want believers to be the ones writing the laws.' Feucht has the ear of many top Republicans. After he held a prayer gathering on the National Mall a week before the 2024 presidential election, Trump personally congratulated him for 'the incredible job' he was doing defending 'religious liberty.' Feucht then attended Trump's inauguration prayer service at the National Cathedral in January, where he embraced Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. The very next week, he posted that House Speaker Mike Johnson had invited him to hold a worship event in the Capitol. Then, in April, Feucht performed at the White House. Given his rallies and political connections, Feucht is 'maybe the most effective evangelical figure on the far right,' Matthew D. Taylor, the senior Christian scholar at the Institute for Islamic, Christian, and Jewish Studies, told me. He is a big reason Christian nationalism has more purchase now than at any other point in recent history. According to a February poll from the Public Religion Research Institute, a majority of Republicans support or sympathize with Christian nationalism. They agreed with a variety of statements provided by PRRI, such as 'If the U.S. moves away from our Christian foundations, we will not have a country anymore.' Last month, the Appeal to Heaven flag —a symbol popular among Christian nationalists—was spotted flying above a D.C. government building. Feucht is pushing to bring religion and government into even closer alignment. Feucht comes from a subset of evangelical Christianity known as the New Apostolic Reformation, or NAR. As my colleague Stephanie McCrummen has written, 'The movement has never been about policies or changes to the law; it's always been about the larger goal of dismantling the institutions of secular government to clear the way for the Kingdom. It is about God's total victory.' Many NAR adherents believe in the 'seven-mountain mandate,' a framework that seeks to go beyond ending the separation between Church and state. The goal is to eventually control the 'seven mountains' of contemporary culture: family, religion, education, media, arts and entertainment, business, and government. Feucht has endorsed the fundamental concept. 'Why shouldn't we be the ones leading the way in all spheres of society?' he said in a 2022 sermon. In a conversation that same year, Feucht referenced his desire for Christian representation in 'the seven spheres of society.' NAR has several high-profile leaders, but Feucht has been especially adept at drawing outside attention to the movement's goals. After rising to prominence during the early days of the pandemic by throwing Christian-rock concerts in violation of lockdown orders, Feucht has built a massive audience of devotees. His constant stream of worship events across the country makes Christian nationalism more accessible for the religious masses, as does his prolific social-media presence (he has half a million followers between Instagram and X). Feucht is connected to just about every faction of the modern right, even the grassroots fringe: On one occasion, he enlisted a member o f the Proud Bo ys, the sometimes-violent far-right group, as part of his security detail. (Feucht later claimed that he wasn't familiar with the group.) With Feucht's help, a version of the seven-mountain mandate is coming true. The Trump administration is cracking down on 'anti-Christian bias' in the federal government, and the president has hired a number of advisers who are linked to Christian nationalism. Under pressure from parents and lawmakers, schools have banned lesson plans and library books related to LGBTQ themes. Feucht is not single-handedly responsible for these wins for Christian nationalists, but his influence is undeniable. Feucht and Hegseth discussed holding a prayer service inside the Pentagon months before the secretary of defense actually did it. Or consider Charlie Kirk, the MAGA power broker who helped run the Trump campaign's youth-vote operation, and then vetted potential White House hires. In 2020, Feucht unsuccessfully ran for Congress and was endorsed by Kirk. Within a week of the endorsement, Kirk invoked the seven-mountain mandate at CPAC, the conservative conference. With Trump, he said, 'finally we have a president that understands the seven mountains of cultural influence.' But not everything has been going well for Feucht. In June, six staffers and volunteers who worked for Feucht's published a long and detailed report accusing him of engaging in financial malfeasance. Feucht's former employees claim that he withheld promised expense reimbursements from ministry volunteers, engaged in donor and payroll fraud, and embezzled nonprofit funds for personal use. The allegations track with earlier reporting by Rolling Stone and Ministry Watch, the nonprofit Christian watchdog. Both have reported on opaque financial dealings involving his nonprofits. Citing a lack of transparency and efficiency, Ministry Watch currently gives Sean Feuch Ministries a 'Donor Confidence Score' of 19 out of 100, and encourages potential donors to 'withhold giving' to the organization. Feucht hasn't been charged with any crimes stemming from the allegations, and has denied wrongdoing. 'None of those allegations are true,' Feucht said in a video he recently posted to YouTube. 'We're in great standing with the IRS. We're in great standing with our accountants.' He later added, 'We are taking ground for Jesus and we are not apologizing for that.' It's possible Feucht's audience will take him at his word. The NAR movement is insular and unwavering in its worldview: Allegations are evidence of persecution for success. Still, a large part of Feucht's power is derived from his donors. At some point, some people might get fed up with giving him money. 'He could lose traction at the follower level,' Taylor said. So far, that seems unlikely. Scandals can take down people, but ideas are more resilient. Kirk has continued to advocate for Christian-nationalist positions; last year, he argued that 'the separation of Church and state is nowhere in the Constitution.' (It is, in fact, in the Constitution—right there in the First Amendment.) Even the formerly staunchly secular world of tech is becoming more open to Christian nationalism. In October, Elon Musk held a town hall at Feucht's former church in Pennsylvania, and has called himself a ' cultural Christian.' Marc Andreessen and other investors have backed a tech enclav e in rural Kentucky closely affiliated with Ch ristian nationalists. Regardless of what happens to Feucht, many of the world's most powerful people seem to be inching closer to what he wants.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump's HUD secretary is embroiled in an embarrassing, all-too-familiar scandal
Donald Trump's housing secretary is embroiled in a controversy over ritzy and self-serving renovations he allegedly wants to make at the Department of Housing and Urban Development's new headquarters at taxpayers' expense. No need to pinch yourself. The year is 2025 — not 2018, when then-HUD Secretary Ben Carson faced backlash after a $31,000 dining set was ordered for his office without the required approval from Congress. He ultimately canceled the order amid media scrutiny. But in the world of Trump scandals, it seems all that is old is made new again: The current HUD secretary, Scott Turner, is now at the center of an oddly similar scenario. On Wednesday, Turner held a news conference with Virginia's Republican governor, Glenn Youngkin, to announce HUD's plans to boot employees of the National Science Foundation out of their Northern Virginia headquarters to make room for HUD to move in. As secretary, Turner has taken an odd interest in slashing his department's budget, cutting its staff and selling HUD's headquarters in Washington. Earlier this week, the American Federation of Government Employees claimed that it had been informed that new plans for the Northern Virginia building included a host of seemingly lavish alterations: 'A dedicated executive suite for the HUD Secretary on the 19th floor.' 'The construction of an executive dining room.' 'Reserved parking spaces for the Secretary's 5 cars.' 'Exclusive use of one elevator for the Secretary.' 'A space dedicated to hosting the Secretary's executive assistants on the 18th floor.' 'A potential gym for the HUD Secretary and his family.' 'This kind of let-them-eat-cake approach to government is absurd,' the union wrote in a news release. 'At a time when they claim to be cutting government waste, it is unbelievable that government funding is being redirected to build a palace-like office for the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. The hypocrisy is truly dumbfounding.' When asked about the claims at his news conference, Turner said: 'That's ridiculous. And it's not true.' 'This is about the HUD employees — to have a safe space, to have a nice place to work, to represent the people that we serve in America,' he added. As far as cringeworthy images of executive branch entitlement go, this story ranks right up there with Interior Secretary Doug Burgum's office allegedly deploying staffers to bake cookies, which Burgum — similar to Turner — vehemently denies. It seems we'll have to take a wait-and-see approach with HUD's new headquarters, though the fact there's speculation at all is arguably a bad look — and one that is only shining more light on the Trump administration's ongoing efforts to downsize federal agencies and, seemingly, inconvenience much of the federal workforce. At the moment, it's not clear where the National Science Foundation employees will end up, but a General Services Administration official said at the news conference that the GSA will help the foundation find another building. This article was originally published on
Axios
6 days ago
- Business
- Axios
Virginia unemployment rate sees longest rise since '08 crisis
Virginia's unemployment rate is on a steady five-month increase — the longest streak since the 2008 Great Recession. Why it matters: The Trump administration's federal job slashing and freezing of grants, contracts and medical research may be to blame. State of play: Virginia's unemployment rate climbed to 3.4% in May, per new U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. While still below the national average (4.2%), the uptick marks the state's highest unemployment level since August 2021. By the numbers: The state's total labor force decreased by more than 11,500 compared with last May, according to new Virginia Works household survey data. Yes, but: Virginia's economy added nearly 50,000 nonfarm jobs over the past year, according to the state employment data, including 41,700 private sector jobs. Also on the rise: Local government jobs (9,900) and state jobs (2,700). The intrigue: The Trump administration announced Wednesday that it is moving the first major federal agency — the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) — out of D.C. to Alexandria, Virginia.
Yomiuri Shimbun
7 days ago
- Business
- Yomiuri Shimbun
HUD to Move to Virginia as Trump Seeks to ‘Rightsize' Federal Presence in D.C.
The Trump administration announced on Wednesday that the Department of Housing and Urban Development will be the first major federal agency to relocate its headquarters outside of D.C., part of a larger plan to restructure the federal government's real estate footprint. HUD Secretary Scott Turner, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) and Michael Peters, commissioner of the General Services Administration's Public Buildings Service, said at a news conference that the agency will move 2,700 workers from a building in such a state of disrepair that the ceiling appears to be crumbling to a more modern building in the city of Alexandria. While it's just across the Potomac River from D.C., the move could help Youngkin and his Republican allies portray Trump's actions as an economic boon to Virginia in advance of the swing state's race for governor this year and the 2026 congressional races. 'At every turn, this commonwealth has proven that we are strong, we are dynamic and we are winning,' Youngkin said, delivering a campaign-style speech at the news conference, where he was later presented with a 'HUD ♥ Virginia' sign. But some prominent Virginia economists expect that Trump's broader actions to slash the federal workforce and government contracting will ultimately cost the state jobs overall. The decision to move HUD to a building that already houses the National Science Foundation – displacing about 1,800 workers without a clear plan for where they will end up – also drew attention to the ways deep federal spending cuts have undermined federal research while upending the capital region's economy. 'This callous disregard for taxpayer dollars and NSF employees comes after the Administration already cut NSF's budget, staff and science grants and forced NSF employees back into the office,' the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 3403, which represents many of those NSF employees, said in a statement. The White House has indicated a desire to move federal agencies away from the District, and Trump set an April deadline for proposals to relocate federal agencies to 'less-costly parts of the country.' Peters said the HUD relocation is part of the administration's efforts to 'rightsize' the federal workforce and save money for the taxpayer, including about $500 million in deferred maintenance on the Robert C. Weaver Federal Building, built in 1968, that currently hosts the agency's headquarters near L'Enfant Plaza in D.C. Turner made it an early priority to relocate HUD's headquarters, which many career staffers agreed were in need of major repairs. Multiple buildings were under consideration over the past few months, including a space in the District previously occupied by the U.S. Agency for International Development, and others in Virginia, according to staff. Turner prioritized new, updated spaces and seemed less keen on making repairs to the existing building in downtown D.C. 'We were very deliberate and very serious about our search,' Turner said Wednesday. Still, news of the switch to the NSF building came as a surprise to HUD staffers when it began disseminating the information Tuesday night. At the standing-room-only announcement Wednesday, a video presentation showed broken elevators and other areas in disrepair at the agency's current headquarters, set against pristine, bright angles of the new location. Officials touted a 'new golden age of HUD,' saying the move would save hundreds of millions of dollars and reinvigorate the department. Turner also said during a staff meeting earlier Wednesday that 'the Weaver Building is not decent, it's not safe, it is not sanitary' – a reference to housing standards set by Congress. At one point, he said he was nearly hit in the head when a brick fell from the ceiling in his office. 'But thank God, by his grace, I'm still standing with you today,' he said, according to a recording of the session obtained by The Washington Post. The move will displace the NSF, which has faced massive spending cuts under the Trump administration. Administration officials on Wednesday did not say where NSF workers would end up, but Peters said the search for a new location would aim to minimize disruption to those employees' lives and work. There's broad agreement that HUD's office is in need of repairs, and staffers aren't uniformly opposed to moving. But multiple employees expressed concerns about what the move would mean for NSF staff and said HUD's announcement was thin on details, including a concrete timeline. The frustration added to broader discontent at HUD, the backbone of the federal government's housing policy. Since Trump's inauguration, the department has sought to slash funding for fair-housing efforts, rental assistance, housing vouchers and homelessness prevention. So many staffers took the second-round buyout offer that officials are trying to get people to voluntarily move into vacant roles. The anger among NSF workers was on display after the announcement, when Turner visited the building and was greeted by chants of 'We won't go' by staff members. The AFGE local said that it had not been briefed on the relocation but that its members had heard that the plan included a private elevator, multiple parking spaces and a personal gym for the HUD secretary. The union accused Turner of prioritizing his own comfort over responsible government spending. On Wednesday, Turner dismissed those allegations as 'ridiculous' and 'not true.' 'I didn't come to government to get nice things,' he said. 'This is about HUD employees, to have a safe place, a nice place to work.' The move could be a loss for D.C. – although city leaders have also been exploring whether the disposal of certain federal buildings could pose real estate opportunities for the city. Even before Trump's election, Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) had long advocated for federal employees to return to the office to bring more foot traffic – and sales tax revenue – back to the sleepier downtown. She traveled to Mar-a-Lago in December to speak with Trump about the federal workforce and government buildings. Bowser also urged the federal government to turn over any underused federal office space to the District so the city could do something different with it. But after the Trump administration began massive federal job cuts, and later announced a long list of federal buildings that could be disposed of, D.C. officials were worried that a problem with downtown office vacancies would be exacerbated. It was unclear Wednesday what will happen with the Weaver Building once it is vacated. The District is expected to lose 40,000 jobs due to the job cuts, leading its chief financial officer to project a roughly $1 billion deficit over the next several years. D.C. economic development officials are advocating for a more strategic partnership with the Trump administration to identify smaller-scale real estate opportunities that could benefit both D.C. and the federal government. For example, not far from HUD, both federal and local officials have focused on a cluster of underused federal buildings – including offices for the Departments of Energy and Agriculture – just blocks from the National Mall. While federal officials are reviewing a potential downsize, city officials have said they see an opportunity to turn the federal fortress into a lively new neighborhood between the Mall and the Wharf. 'We all want a strong and beautiful Nation's Capital – but that requires a committed federal partner,' Nina Albert, the city's deputy mayor for planning and economic development, said in a statement. 'We call on our federal partners to engage with us on a comprehensive strategy that pauses the relocation of agencies and plans for moves that maximize the benefit to both the federal government and the District.' For Virginia, the Trump administration's efforts to slash, remake and relocate big chunks of the federal government are playing out as voters prepare to choose a new governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and all 100 members of the House of Delegates in November. Democrats, led by gubernatorial nominee Abigail Spanberger, hope to capitalize on the upheaval that they say could cripple the state's economy. The term-limited Youngkin and the Republican who hopes to succeed him, Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, are on a trickier path as they stand with Trump and portray the cuts as short-term pain to get the nation's finances in order. Youngkin in particular has sought to cast the changes as an opportunity for Virginia. Youngkin fully embraced Trump last year as the governor abandoned a long-teased presidential bid and set his sights on 2028. He cast HUD's decision as confirmation that by cutting taxes and reducing regulations, he has led purple Virginia to new heights as blue neighbors decline. The governor noted that bond-rating agencies had just affirmed Virginia's sterling triple-A rating while D.C.'s and Maryland's were downgraded by Moody's. 'Virginia continues to be a magnet, a magnet welcoming opportunity wherever it presents itself,' Youngkin said, adding that his administration is searching for an alternative site to house the NSF. Peters appeared to support that effort, saying, 'If I were a betting man, I would bet that they end up in Virginia.' Youngkin also used the news conference as an opportunity to seize another potential economic windfall from the Trump administration. When asked about Trump's decision to pause a plan to move the new FBI headquarters out of D.C. to Prince George's County, Maryland, the governor said he would continue to pitch his state as an option. 'I would love the opportunity to present Virginia as the home for FBI headquarters,' he said. Terry Rephann, regional economist for the University of Virginia's Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service, said Virginia has not been enjoying as much economic success as Youngkin claims. The center projects that 18,000 federal job losses will occur in Virginia, on top of thousands of layoffs at government contractors such as McLean-based Booz Allen Hamilton, which in May announced plans to cut 2,500 jobs. Moreover, FBI leadership is pushing to move one of the bureau's elite training academies from Quantico, Virginia, to Huntsville, Alabama, The Post reported this month. 'The planned HUD relocation would only claw back a small portion of the anticipated losses, so it's still a net deficit situation,' Rephann said. 'When the governor says we'll come out a winner in this … I really don't see what data he has to support that.' Virginia Senate Majority Leader Scott A. Surovell (D-Fairfax) accused Youngkin of ignoring warning signs for the state's economy, including a 40 percent surge in year-over-year home listings in the D.C. region and five straight months of rising Virginia unemployment. (The state's unemployment rate in May was 3.4 percent, still below the national average of 4.2 percent.) 'All we hear from this administration is happy talk, cherry-picked statistics and theme-branded press events where he won't answer real questions,' Surovell said. Alexandria Mayor Alyia Gaskins (D) said the HUD move will boost the city's economy. Officials have for years been struggling to increase commercial and office uses, in part to allow them to ease residents' growing tax burden. The city was not involved in discussions to bring HUD to Alexandria, a city of about 160,000 people that is also home to 10 other properties that include federal office space. But city officials are hopeful that the NSF will remain in Alexandria as well. 'If we have those [HUD] jobs, in addition to keeping those jobs at NSF,' Gaskins said, 'this is a win that recognizes and is a testament to the investments we've put into making this a great city to work, and to live and to do business.'
