U.S. Census Bureau / HUD

U.S. federal government agencies

Background

The Census Bureau traces its roots to the constitutionally mandated decennial count first conducted in 1790; Congress created a permanent Census Office in 1902, which moved to the Department of Commerce and Labor in 1903 and to Commerce alone when the two departments split in 1913. It produces the decennial census as well as dozens of ongoing surveys — including the American Community Survey — whose results direct more than $675 billion in annual federal spending. HUD was established by the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1965 under President Johnson to coordinate federal responses to urban housing problems; Robert C. Weaver became its first secretary and the first African American Cabinet member. HUD oversees programs including Section 8 housing vouchers, public housing, FHA mortgage insurance, and homelessness assistance that together serve millions of low-income households. Under the Trump administration's second term beginning in January 2025, both agencies have experienced significant disruption: DOGE identified and terminated Census surveys, triggering concerns about a brain drain of career statisticians and the readiness of the 2030 decennial count. At HUD, Secretary Scott Turner launched a DOGE task force in early 2025, proposed halving the agency's workforce (from roughly 8,300 to 4,000 employees), and withheld $3.6 billion in Continuum of Care homelessness funds, drawing legal challenges and criticism from housing advocates. The administration's FY2026 budget originally proposed cutting HUD's discretionary funding by 59 percent, though Congress ultimately enacted a $7.2 billion increase over FY2025 levels, reflecting bipartisan resistance to deep housing cuts.

Sources

1. United States Census Bureau – Wikipedia
2. U.S. Census Bureau Agency History and Timeline
3. Overview of FY2026 Appropriations for the Census Bureau – Congress.gov
4. DOGE targets Census Bureau, worrying data users – U.S. News & World Report
5. How DOGE's push to amass data could hurt the reliability of future U.S. statistics – NPR
6. United States Department of Housing and Urban Development – Wikipedia
7. HUD History – HUD.gov
8. How the Department of Housing Is Faring Under Trump – Time
9. HUD Secretary Scott Turner Launches DOGE Task Force – HUD.gov
10. Appropriations Update: Final FY2026 THUD Funding Summary – Bipartisan Policy Center
11. Department of Housing and Urban Development FY2026 Budget Request – Congress.gov

Profile compiled 2026-07-20; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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