DOGE’s cuts to HUD will only make the housing crisis worse

Claire Bergstresser worked as an equal opportunity specialist at HUD .

She and two colleagues were fired as part of Elon Musk’s purge of probationary workers across the federal government.

Workers in three HUD offices are anticipated to bear the brunt of the layoffs.

The attack on HUD comes during a national housing affordability crisis and record homelessness.

The AP reports that 80 percent of the Fair Housing Office’s staff are at risk of being cut.

The proposed firings could “have a catastrophic effect on homelessness nationwide,” Deborah Thrope , deputy director of the National Housing Law Project , told Mother Jones .

Bloomberg reported that HUD plans to close dozens of field offices across the country.

When we spoke on Wednesday morning , Bergstresser said the next steps were unclear, and she had not yet received an offer to return to her job. But if this happened, she said, “I’d take it.”.