Is Trump Killing America's Homeless?

By Timothy D. Naegele[1]

When I served as counsel to the United States Senate’s Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, and staffed the late Senator Edward W. Brooke of Massachusetts, I wrote what became Section 8. I have championed its virtues ever since.[2] While it isn't perfect—nothing in life is, except God—it has helped millions of Americans who would not have roofs over their heads except for the program.

Now it is under assault.[3] Former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in the first Trump administration, Dr. Ben Carson, might be able to rescue the program and help America's homeless as much as anyone in the country. Having overseen the program, he understands its strengths, weaknesses and complexities like few other Americans.

As a medical doctor, Carson understands the needs of the homeless too, as much as anyone. Perhaps above all else, Donald Trump trusts him; and knows that Carson would not come aboard to "jack knife" the Trump presidency. The program is in need of a "skilled surgeon"—or someone with Carson's expertise, not a political hack[4]—if America's homeless are to survive.

And yes, the homeless are among us as I write this—perhaps as close as our shadows—or someone we know. Hard times can hit anyone and any family. Just because it hasn't happened before now doesn't mean that it won't happen in the future. There are no guarantees in life. Having been hypercritical of Trump even though I voted for him three times[5], I want the very best for each and every American.

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[1] Timothy D. Naegele was counsel to the United States Senate’s Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and chief of staff to Presidential Medal of Freedom and Congressional Gold Medal recipient and former U.S. Senator Edward W. Brooke (R-Mass). See, e.g., Timothy D. Naegele Resume-21-8-6 and https://naegeleknol.wordpress.com/accomplishments/ He has an undergraduate degree in economics from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), as well as two law degrees from the School of Law (Boalt Hall), University of California, Berkeley, and from Georgetown University. He served as a Captain in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War, assigned to the Defense Intelligence Agency at The Pentagon, where he received the Joint Service Commendation Medal (see, e.g., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commendation_Medal#Joint_Service). Mr. Naegele is an Independent politically; and he is listed in Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in American Law, and Who’s Who in Finance and Business. He has written extensively over the years (see, e.g., https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/articles/ and https://naegeleknol.wordpress.com/articles/), and studied photography with Ansel Adams. He can be contacted directly at [email protected]

[2] See, e.g., https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2019/05/07/the-brooke-amendment-and-section-8-housing-revisited/ ("The Brooke Amendment And Section 8 Housing: Revisited")

[3] See, e.g., https://apnews.com/article/hud-section-8-vouchers-trump-budget-cuts-1e1896d3e1335ec7552bf3faf5edcefa ("1.4M of the nation's poorest renters risk losing their homes with Trump's proposed HUD time limit")

[4] EAH Housing is run by a hack, if not an outright criminal.

See, e.g., https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2025/01/17/injustices-at-eah ("A Fish Rots From The Head Down")

[5] See, e.g., https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2025/07/14/the-achilles-heel-of-trump/ ("The Achilles' Heel Of Trump") and https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2025/07/07/too-many-negatives/ ("Too Many Negatives?")