Scott Turner, who serves as President Trump’s Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, has dismissed claims that his agency improperly utilized its government website by placing blame on Democrats for the government shutdown.
A prominent banner on hud.gov displayed Wednesday night stated: “The Radical Left in Congress shut down the government. HUD will use available resources to help Americans in need.”
This message, concise in nature, followed a more extensive version that appeared a day before the shutdown, as captured in a Getty Images photo. It read: “The Radical Left is poised to shut down the government and impose significant hardship on the American people unless their $1.5 trillion list of demands is met. The Trump administration aims to keep the government operational for the American people.”
During an appearance on “CUOMO” on Wednesday, Turner addressed the criticism by disputing the notion that the messaging infringed upon the Hatch Act, a 1939 statute that largely prohibits political activity using executive resources.
Host Chris Cuomo questioned, “I’m not accustomed to seeing overt political messages on a government website. Do you have any concerns about violating the Hatch Act?”
Turner responded: “No, sir, there’s no concern on our part, and this isn’t about propaganda, Chris, it’s merely about informing the American public about the situation.”
Why has the federal government shut down?
The federal government partially shut down Wednesday after Republicans who control Congress could not get Democrats to agree to a spending bill to keep things running into October. Democrats have demanded restoration of subsidies for low- and middle-income citizens who purchase health insurance through the Affordable Care Act. The minority party also wants to reverse future Medicaid cuts the GOP passed as part of Trump’s “One Big, Beautiful Bill Act.”
With the federal government in shutdown mode, Turner said his agency would be “focused on serving the most vulnerable people of this country.” Asked how many public housing residents rely on Medicaid benefits, the HUD secretary said he didn’t know.
“I want to give you a right answer. I don’t want to just throw anything out there because that’s not how I operate,” Turner said.
Hundreds of thousands of federal workers were furloughed Wednesday, with essential workers continuing to show up with no pay. Active-duty service members could also miss a paycheck if the shutdown continues. Meanwhile, Trump has promised to use the shutdown as an excuse to fire additional federal workers; downsizing the government has been a big priority in his second term in office.
“The Democrats want to shut it down. So, when you shut it down, you have to do layoffs. So, we’d be laying off a lot of people that are going to be very affected, and the Democrats, they’re going to be Democrats,” the president said.
