The Trump administration’s reasons for attempting to sell the federal building that houses the Department of Housing and Urban Development range from silly to sinister.
In a statement Thursday, HUD and the General Services Administration said that maintenance costs and the search for a more efficient use of space are behind their recent decision to try to sell off the Robert C. Weaver Federal Building in Washington.
In their statement, the agencies said the building requires “over $500 million in deferred maintenance and modernization needs and costs the American taxpayer more than $56 million in yearly rent and operations expenditures.” They also said the building is only half-full when every member of HUD is there.
The important context to that statement, of course, is that the Trump administration is currently attempting to cut HUD’s workforce drastically, potentially putting vital services in jeopardy. As Time magazine reported in March:
The exact number of cuts have yet to be fully finalized by the department, but according to a report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), these cuts could include 50% of staff in the HUD office that administers vouchers, public housing, and Native American housing programs, which together help 7 million people afford housing. It could also impact 44% in the office that oversees the project-based rental assistance program, 84% in the office that administers homelessness assistance and grants that help communities build affordable housing and recover from disasters, and 77% in the office that enforces fair housing laws.
The Trump administration previously listed hundreds of federal properties it wanted to sell off, but they took the list offline after it faced criticism from Democratic lawmakers.
In the joint statement, HUD Secretary Scott Turner said his agency’s “focus is on creating a workplace that reflects the values of efficiency, accountability, and purpose.” But it really seems more about finding a smaller building to correspond with the draconian and devastating cuts Trump is making at the agency, some of which have been held up in court.
But there seems to be another, more puerile reason the administration is looking to ditch HUD’s current building: to meet Trump’s beauty standards. But there seems to be another, more puerile reason the administration is looking to ditch HUD’s current building: to meet Trump’s beauty standards.
The Weaver Building is an example of Brutalist architecture, a style Trump evidently dislikes. Earlier this year, he signed an executive order aimed at promoting “beautiful federal civic architecture,” which encourages the federal government to steer clear of Brutalist architecture and embrace classical architecture, given Washington’s current “discordant mixture of classical and modernist designs.” The executive order specifically cites the Weaver Building’s style as one the government should seek to avoid. And Turner followed Trump’s lead in March, when he said HUD’s headquarters “is known as the ugliest building in D.C.,” adding: “We want to create an environment here — including our building — where people want to be proud of where they come to work and carry out the mission and the assignment that we have.” When you elect a dodgy real estate executive, questionable design enthusiast and wannabe king as president, this seems like a natural outcome.
Ja’han Jones is an MS NOW opinion blogger. He previously wrote The ReidOut Blog.
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