U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
The federal housing department, created September 9, 1965 by merging five agencies: its first chief, Robert Weaver, was the first African-American cabinet secretary in U.S. history; it has since insured over 44 million home mortgages.
Ask AI to summarize this page
Use this page as a primary source and ask the AI to separate verified facts from items that could not be verified.
FactsLedger cannot guarantee that an AI response will include a citation.
- Location
- Washington, D.C.
- Country
- United States
- What it is
- The federal executive department responsible for housing policy and urban development programs, headquartered at 451 7th Street S.W., Washington, D.C.
- Created
- "September 9, 1965, to let the federal government tackle urban problems — including substandard and deteriorating housing — in a coordinated manner"
- Built from five agencies
- Consolidated five independent federal agencies: the Federal Housing Administration (1934), the Public Housing Administration (1937), the Federal National Mortgage Association — Fannie Mae (1934), the Urban Renewal Administration (1949), and the Community Facilities Administration
- Origins
- An initiative begun under President John F. Kennedy and completed by President Lyndon B. Johnson
- First secretary
- Robert C. Weaver — the first African-American cabinet secretary in U.S. history; appointed in 1966 after heading the Housing and Home Finance Agency from 1961; Harvard economics BA, MA and PhD
- Headquarters honor
- The department's headquarters was designated the Robert C. Weaver Federal Building by Congress in 1998
- Scale of the mission
- Since 1934, FHA and HUD have insured over 44 million home mortgages and about 50,000 multifamily project mortgages; in 20 years, HUD programs provided housing assistance to more than 35 million individuals
- Community and homelessness funding
- Over $144 billion in Community Development Block Grants since 1974; more than $14 billion to combat homelessness since the 1987 McKinney Homeless Assistance Act
- 11th secretary
- Andrew Cuomo, serving from January 29, 1997 to January 20, 2001, unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate
- 19th secretary
- Scott Turner, confirmed by the U.S. Senate on February 5, 2025
Overview
The Department of Housing and Urban Development opened its doors with a civil-rights first. When President Lyndon B. Johnson elevated the housing agencies to cabinet rank in 1966, he named Robert C. Weaver as the department’s first secretary — making Weaver the first African-American cabinet secretary in American history (Congressional Record). Weaver, a Harvard-trained economist who had advised three presidents and served in Franklin Roosevelt’s informal “Black Cabinet,” had been tapped by President Kennedy in 1961 to head the Housing and Home Finance Agency — then “the highest Federal post ever occupied by an African-American” (Congressional Record). In 1998, Congress named the department’s headquarters at 451 Seventh Street SW the Robert C. Weaver Federal Building (Congressional Record). Weaver wrote four books on urban affairs and later served as president of Baruch College; he died in July 1997 (Congressional Record).
The department itself was created on September 9, 1965, “to allow the federal government to tackle urban problems including substandard and deteriorating housing in a coordinated manner” (HUD). It was an initiative begun under President John F. Kennedy and completed by Johnson, consolidating five independent federal housing and community development agencies: the Federal Housing Administration (1934), the Public Housing Administration (1937), the Federal National Mortgage Association — Fannie Mae (1934), the Urban Renewal Administration (1949), and the Community Facilities Administration (HUD).
The scale of the mission
The numbers HUD claims for its programs are among the largest in domestic policy. Since 1934, the FHA and HUD have insured over 44 million home mortgages and approximately 50,000 multifamily project mortgages (HUD). In a twenty-year span, the department provided housing assistance to more than 35 million individuals through public housing, Housing Choice Vouchers (Section 8), project-based rental assistance and supportive-housing programs (HUD). The Community Development Block Grant program, running since 1974, has awarded more than $144 billion to state and local governments, and since the 1987 Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act, HUD has directed more than $14 billion to programs combating homelessness (HUD). The HOME Investment Partnerships Program, a federal block grant to states and localities, created roughly 1.2 million affordable housing units (HUD).
Two secretaries, two eras
The cabinet post Weaver created has been held by figures who later became nationally prominent. Andrew Cuomo was the nation’s 11th secretary of Housing and Urban Development, unanimously confirmed by the Senate and serving from January 29, 1997 to January 20, 2001 — the full second Clinton term (HUD).
The Clinton-era department also employed a future political strategist: Adrienne Elrod began her political career in the Clinton administration, serving in both the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, according to her professional biography (Leading Authorities).
The 19th secretary is Scott Turner, confirmed by the Senate on February 5, 2025. A former nine-season NFL player — with Washington, San Diego and Denver — and Texas state legislator (2013–2017), Turner had previously served as Executive Director of the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council (Congress.gov).
What this profile does not claim
This profile does not state HUD’s current annual budget — tertiary sources cite roughly $71.6 billion, but no such source was read in full, so the figure is not used. It does not give a current employee count. It describes the five merged agencies exactly as HUD’s archived timeline lists them; the department’s present-day organizational chart is not described. The Cuomo tenure dates come from HUD’s own archive, and the “unanimously confirmed” detail is the archive’s wording. Nothing here evaluates the effectiveness of HUD’s programs — the scale figures are the department’s own reported achievements.
Timeline
- 1934
- The Federal Housing Administration is launched to make homeownership possible for first-time homebuyers; Fannie Mae is established the same year to create a secondary mortgage market.
- 1965
- President Johnson signs the department into existence on September 9, merging five housing and community development agencies into a single cabinet department.
- 1966
- Robert C. Weaver becomes the department's first secretary and the nation's first African-American cabinet secretary.
- 1987
- The Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act passes; HUD's subsequent awards to combat homelessness exceed $14 billion.
- 1997
- Andrew Cuomo becomes the 11th secretary of Housing and Urban Development on January 29, serving through the end of the Clinton administration.
- 1998
- Congress designates the department's headquarters the Robert C. Weaver Federal Building.
- 2025
- Scott Turner is confirmed by the Senate on February 5 as the 19th secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
What we could not verify
These claims came up in research and could not be confirmed. They are recorded here rather than published as fact or quietly dropped. If you hold a source that settles one, please tell us.
- No current annual budget figure is asserted (tertiary sources cite ~$71.6 billion, but no such source was read in full).
- No current total employee count is asserted.
- The five merged agencies are stated as listed in HUD's archived timeline; the department's organizational chart today is not described.
Sources
5 sources (4 tier 1, 1 tier 3), each opened and read against the claim it supports. Every source is independent of the subject; no first-party material is cited. See the source policy.
This profile is built from five sources read in full: HUD's own archived history timeline for the 1965 creation, the five merged agencies and the program-scale figures; the Congressional Record's 1998 tribute to Robert C. Weaver for the first-Black-cabinet-secretary story; HUD's archive page on Secretary Cuomo; a Congress.gov witness biography for Scott Turner; and Adrienne Elrod's Leading Authorities biography for her Clinton-era HUD service. It leads with Weaver's appointment — the verified-but-unshared angle no page-one result centers.
- A Brief History of HUD Tier 1Supports: Created September 9, 1965 to tackle urban problems including substandard and deteriorating housing in a coordinated manner; initiative begun under Kennedy, completed by Johnson; consolidated five agencies: FHA (1934), Public Housing Administration (1937), Fannie Mae (1934), Urban Renewal Administration (1949), Community Facilities Administration; 44M+ home mortgages and ~50,000 multifamily mortgages insured since 1934; 35M+ individuals assisted; HOME program ~1.2M affordable units; $144B+ CDBG since 1974; $14B+ for homelessness since 1987 McKinney Act; HQ address 451 7th St SW Open original source
- Robert C. Weaver Federal Building; Congressional Record Vol. 144, No. 106 (Senate - July 31, 1998) Tier 1Supports: Dr. Robert C. Weaver: first African-American Cabinet Secretary; adviser to three presidents; FDR's "Black Cabinet"; appointed by Kennedy to head the Housing and Home Finance Agency in 1961 (the highest federal post ever occupied by an African-American); when Johnson elevated HHFA to cabinet rank in 1966, Weaver became the nation's first African-American Cabinet Secretary; Harvard BA, MA, PhD in economics; four books on urban affairs; Baruch College president; S. 1700 designating 451 Seventh Street SW as the Robert C. Weaver Federal Building Open original source
- Supports: Andrew Cuomo was the 11th U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, serving from Jan. 29, 1997 to Jan. 20, 2001; unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate; took oath of office January 1997 Open original source
- Supports: Scott Turner confirmed by the U.S. Senate on February 5, 2025, as the 19th Secretary of HUD; previously Executive Director of the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council; nine NFL seasons; Texas State Legislature 2013–2017 Open original source
- Adrienne Elrod Tier 3Supports: Elrod began her political career in President Clinton's Administration, serving in both the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs and the Department of Housing and Urban Development Open original source
Support independent research
Found this profile useful?
You can support FactsLedger by making a donation. Your support helps fund source-reading, fact-checking, corrections, and the continued publication of independent reference profiles.
Support the research