Under the Biden administration, the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) headquarters in Washington, D.C., became eerily deserted, resembling an empty retail space after Halloween, according to a senior Trump administration official. This observation comes as employees largely worked from home, leaving the offices virtually untouched since the first Trump term.
The official likened the vacant offices to off-season "Spirit Halloween" stores, referring to the temporary costume shops that occupy vacant commercial spaces leading up to Halloween. Fox News Digital reports that while the HUD headquarters has a capacity of over 6,000 people, only around 3,000 desks and offices are set up. Furthermore, data provided to Fox News Digital reveals that an average of just 705 employees actually worked in the building during 2023 and 2024 under President Biden.
The cost of operating the 10-story building, designed in Brutalist architectural style, reached over $111 million in fiscal year 2024, according to initial figures. However, a later correction from the Trump administration revised this figure to approximately $56.7 million. A striking example of the building's emptiness is a photograph obtained by Fox News Digital showing an employee's business card left on a whiteboard, seemingly untouched since the end of Trump's first term.
This discovery further fuels President Trump's push for employees to return to in-person work, citing a responsibility to the American public and the need to eliminate government waste. Newly confirmed HUD Secretary Scott Turner echoed this sentiment, emphasizing the importance of in-person collaboration, accountability, and efficient use of taxpayer dollars. Turner declared that the "four-year vacation" is over and highlighted his commitment to restoring a productive work environment at HUD.
In line with President Trump's mandate to end pandemic-era remote work arrangements, HUD has implemented a phased return-to-office plan, aiming for over 88% of its workforce to be back in the office full-time by late February 2025.
Furthermore, Turner recently launched the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) task force, headed by Elon Musk, to address waste and mismanagement within the agency. DOGE has already identified $1.9 billion in misplaced HUD funds and returned them to the U.S. Treasury, with Turner reporting over $260 million in additional savings identified.
