HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge to resign this month
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HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge speaking in Selma, Ala., on March 3. Photo: Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images
Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Marcia Fudge will resign from her post in the Biden administration this month, she told USA Today in an interview on Monday.
Why it matters: Fudge will be President Biden's third Cabinet member to depart his administration, the first being science adviser Eric Lander, who left in 2022 after violating the administration's workplace policy.
- The second was former Labor Secretary Marty Walsh, who left last year to lead the National Hockey League Players' Association.
What they're saying: Fudge, a former representative from Ohio, told USA Today she felt it was "time to go home" and that she looked forward to again being a private citizen.
- "Don't look for me to ever be on another ballot or another appointee or anything like that,'' she said, adding that she felt she has "done just about everything I could do at HUD for this administration as we go into this crazy, silly season of an election."
- Fudge stressed that securing affordable housing, which is the HUD's primary goal, should be a focus for both Republicans and Democrats.
- ''It is not a red or blue issue,'' she said. "Everybody knows that it is an issue so it's not a one-sided issue. It's an American issue.''
The big picture: In recent years, the U.S. housing shortage has worsened, spiking home prices and mortgage rates, straining affordability and contributing to rising homelessness.
- While she lead HUD, the department restored fair housing rules revoked by the Trump administration, updated its guidance on office-to-apartment conversions and overhauled its disaster recovery efforts.
- In March 2021, an independent federal investigative agency concluded Fudge violated the Hatch Act by weighing in on the Ohio's 2022 Senate election.
Go deeper: Why Biden's so obsessed with housing policy
Editor's note: This piece was corrected to show Marcia Fudge is the third Cabinet member (not secretary) to depart during Biden's administration.
