Prince George’s County to cooperate with House GOP probe into HUD violations

Prince George’s County officials pledged Thursday to cooperate with a House GOP probe into substandard public housing conditions under former County Executive Angela Alsobrooks.

Republican leaders of the House Financial Services Committee flagged multiple violations of Housing and Urban Development regulations for Section 8 housing in a letter emailed Monday to the Maryland county’s public housing agency.

“We fully intend to cooperate with the inquiry, recognizing that it covers a period from January 2021, during a previous administration,” Sharon Taylor, communications director for County Executive Aisha Braveboy, said in a phone call. “We’re going to work our hardest to provide everything that’s requested.”

One of 32 letters sent to HUD-identified “troubled public housing agencies” dates the concerns to the middle of Ms. Alsobrooks’ administration as county executive from 2018 to 2024. That tenure ended when she became Maryland’s junior U.S. senator in January 2025.

The letter requests detailed financial records and documentation of how the Democrat-controlled county adjoining the nation’s capital has addressed years of safety complaints and failed HUD inspections.

The Washington Times has reached out to Ms. Alsobrooks’ Senate office for comment.

GOP Reps. French Hill of Arkansas, chair of the House Financial Services Committee; Dan Meuser of Pennsylvania, chair of the oversight subcommittee; and Mike Flood of Nebraska, chair of the housing subcommittee, signed the letter.

Others receiving a letter included public housing agencies in Omaha, Nebraska; Live Oak, Florida; Camden, New Jersey; Cincinnati; and Petersburg, Virginia.

“These [public housing authorities] have been identified by HUD as failing to provide minimal standards for their residents,” Dan Schneider, the committee’s communications director, said in an email.

Mr. Schneider said Republicans “initiated this investigation to protect taxpayer dollars” and ensure “public and subsidized housing residents have access to safe, clean housing.”

The Times has also reached out to HUD for comment.

Milan Ozdinec, a retired HUD executive, testified during an oversight subcommittee hearing on Tuesday that roughly 25% of public housing authorities do not meet minimum federal housing standards.

“It is a persistent problem,” he said.

Mr. Meuser, the oversight subcommittee chair, noted that more than 3,300 local public housing agencies spend roughly $40 billion of federal funding a year on 9 million Americans living in low-income units.

He cited government estimates that roughly 10% of taxpayer funds are lost to fraud, another 10% of government payments are improper and 10% of public housing authorities fail HUD’s physical inspections.

“That is why the Trump administration and this committee have made oversight and enforcement of [public housing authorities] a priority,” Mr. Meuser said.

Rep. Al Green, Texas Democrat, countered that the committee should instead investigate HUD Secretary Scott Turner for eliminating 780 workers from his agency’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity.

The congressman said the downsizing has stalled HUD oversight of racial discrimination in public housing.

“Chronic underfunding, lack of compliance and insufficient oversight has resulted in the Trump administration’s severe cutbacks in these housing programs, which make the programs less safe and less effective,” Mr. Green said.