Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has declined, for now, to testify before a powerful House subcommittee examining alleged “waste, fraud and abuse” tied to more than $1 billion in federal homelessness funding.
In a letter obtained by The Post, the mayor’s office rejected the DOGE subcommittee’s request to question Bass about federal dollars directed to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, commonly known as LAHSA.
David Michaelson, the mayor’s legal counsel, wrote that “unfortunately the mayor is not available on that date,” referring to a proposed Sept. 15 appearance before the panel.
The letter did not say what Bass is scheduled to do that day, and her team offered no further explanation in the correspondence.
The DOGE panel last week called on Bass to appear before its 18 members to answer questions about alleged mismanagement involving more than $1 billion in federal homelessness funds provided to LAHSA.
The homelessness agency was thrown into turmoil earlier this year after the federal government halted funding while investigating accusations that included false statements, financial management problems and weak safeguards against conflicts of interest.
LAHSA continues to receive hundreds of millions of dollars from the City of Los Angeles, though that support was cut sharply in the latest budget, dropping 40% to $496 million.
“Unfortunately, the Mayor is not available on that date. We have contacted the Subcommittee staff to discuss this issue,” Michaelson wrote on Bass’ behalf in the letter to the DOGE subcommittee.
The letter did comply with the committee’s records and document requests, including documents from Bass’ office covering the period from Jan. 1, 2020, to the present, including records on LAHSA’s internal controls, the use of federal homelessness funds, and communications between the mayor’s office, LAHSA, the City Council and LA County Board of Supervisors.
“We are commencing the collection and review of records in response to the Subcommittee’s request,” the letter adds, noting her office will provide the records “as soon as possible.”
The documents are due by Sept. 14 — one day before the initial date Bass was told to appear in DC.
The DOGE panel is not waiting around for Bass. Instead, the committee said it is going forward with its hearing without the mayor.
“It’s a shame Mayor Bass is afraid to come testify about her policies that have increased homelessness in Los Angeles and enabled a culture of corruption,” a spokeswoman for the committee told The Post.
“The DOGE Subcommittee is moving forward with its hearing to expose the corrupt contracting and grant-making by LAHSA, as well as its facilitation of self-enrichment among nonprofits who received taxpayer funds.”
“Witnesses will soon be announced,” She added.
The committee has pointed to several specific examples that have raised questions about LAHSA’s oversight.
Among them is a $2.1 million contract signed by former LAHSA CEO Va Lecia Adams Kellum with Upward Bound House, the employer of her husband.
Kellum had previously told LAist she had recused herself from matters involving her husband’s employer, but public records later showed she personally authorized the contract. LAHSA said the contract had “inadvertently ended up” in front of her.
The panel also cited reporting about 1736 Family Crisis Center, which has received more than $36 million in federal grants since 2008, including at least $25 million through LAHSA since 2021.
It is unclear if any former or current leadership of LAHSA was also summoned to DC for the hearing. The Post has reached out to the subcommittee for further comment.
The panel — separately chaired — operates under the larger government reform committee, which is chaired by Kentucky Republican Rep. James Comer.
Comer has led several high-profile congressional investigations, including the House GOP’s investigation into the Biden family’s business dealings and its 2023-24 impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.
The committee has also investigated alleged fraud and misuse of federal funds in Minnesota.
Subcommittee Chairman Tim Burchett’s subcommittee hammered Bass and the city for failing in their “joint responsibility” to oversee the scandal-plagued joint agency — which has gobbled up more than $1 billion in federal taxpayer cash since 2021 while homelessness exploded.
While House oversight Republicans are eager to haul Karen Bass to Capitol Hill to answer for the sprawling, fraud-riddled mess at the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, the LA mayor is already trying to wash her hands of the disaster.
“LAHSA has its own executive leadership team and staff who are responsible for day-to-day operations, budget and administration. The Mayor does not control LAHSA’s operation, budget, or administration,” the letter from Bass’ counsel reads.
The panel previously also cited a Department of Housing and Urban Development inspector general investigation into LAHSA’s handling of federal funds, including alleged “repeated false statements” and failures involving financial management, internal controls and safeguards against conflicts of interest.
In June, HUD suspended further federal funding to LAHSA until officials could demonstrate that adequate safeguards were in place to protect taxpayer dollars. A federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s cuts in August.
Now, Bass’ lawyers quickly clapped back, claiming the mayor is just a helpless spectator with a single seat on a 10-member board, insisting LAHSA is an independent bureaucracy whose day-to-day operations, bloated budgets and cozy nonprofit contracts lie completely outside her control.
While House GOP investigators hit Karen Bass with claims that L.A.’s homelessness crisis has only spiraled on her watch, the mayor’s office fired back with its own statistical flex — boasting an 11% drop in street homelessness and taking credit for stripping needle-exchange programs from city contractors in favor of actual rehab.
Bass’ lawyers also poured cold water on Capitol Hill’s grandstanding over suspended federal funds, pointing out that a federal judge already slapped down the Department of Housing and Urban Development for acting in an “arbitrary and capricious” manner when it froze the cash.
As for the ethics scandal surrounding LAHSA’s ex-boss handing a $2.1 million contract to her husband’s employer, Team Bass noted that HUD had already investigated the mess and quietly closed the case after the agency cleaned up its conflict-of-interest rules.
While the current letter from the Oversight Committee does not itself appear to be a legally binding subpoena requiring Mayor Bass to appear, House standing committees and subcommittees can have authority under House rules to compel testimony through subpoenas.
A duly issued congressional subpoena carries legal force, and failure to comply can lead to contempt of Congress proceedings and, potentially, a referral for criminal prosecution.
Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters
