Dem gov lashes out as Trump HUD scrutinizes nearly $2B in disaster funds over fraud concerns
Virgin Islands Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. slammed the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) after the agency suspended procurements involving the territory's housing finance authority over concerns about fraud and abuse tied to nearly $2 billion in disaster-recovery aid.
Bryan, a Democrat, said HUD’s suspension came as a "shock" and called HUD's letter "unprofessional." He claimed the U.S. Virgin Islands' disaster-recovery issues have been "sensationalized" and that the suspension is an "overreach."
"When I go to Washington, I don't go and visit [HUD or FEMA] anymore because we don't have any problems," Bryan claimed when pressed by local media at a public briefing in Charlotte Amalie.
At one point, Bryan suggested HUD’s announcement could be a "political stunt" timed with Tuesday's start of early voting in the territory’s contested gubernatorial election. Bryan is term-limited.
"[W]hy does the press have it and why does Fox News in particular have it and why are we only hearing about this now?" Bryan fumed – as Fox News Digital exclusively broke the news Tuesday.
"We'll be appealing [HUD’s suspension] and then get into the bottom of what exactly is generating this kind of harsh motives in the Virgin Islands."
Fox News Digital reached out to HUD for comment.
When Bryan said an audit cited in HUD's suspension notice had ended some time ago, a reporter noted a separate HUD report found the Virgin Islands Housing Finance Authority's risk management practices remained "below the lowest desired level" as recently as March 2025.
The reporter asked Bryan whether it was fair to say the territorial government had been "blindsided" by HUD's letter and subsequent news reports.
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"Absolutely," Bryan replied. "[E]ven if it was up to 2025 it covers a period where they have already addressed it in fact the $6.2 million in-question cost was addressed years ago."
Bryan said he "perused" the letter from Andrew Hughes, a deputy to HUD Secretary Scott Turner, and argued the territory has made significant progress on several recovery projects, including one at Magen's Bay, a world-famous calm-water beach on St. Thomas.
He suggested some of the issues with recovery projects in the U.S. Virgin Islands have to do with costs, saying one public housing unit can expend $1 million – "which is crazy."
"We’ve had to send out bids multiple times because the costs are not aligning with what the national standards are," he said.
In a separate statement, Bryan said many of the matters described in HUD’s letter "reflect issues that have been known for some time."
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"According to the Virgin Islands Housing Finance Authority, significant corrective actions have already been undertaken in the years since many of those findings were first identified."
"It is important that this process be handled in a manner that protects the people of the Virgin Islands and does not unnecessarily disrupt critical housing and disaster-recovery programs," he said.
Bryan said at his press conference that his administration previously addressed "weaknesses" at VIHFA earlier in his administration.
"We have done a lot of work in order to make sure that the HFA had the capacity – if you can remember the first three years of the administration, we talked about capacity planning... which has slowed the recovery considerably from their view."
HUD's suspension comes as Turner plays a leading role on the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, as the Trump administration continues its wide-scale effort across agencies to curb abuse of taxpayer funds.
Fox News Digital reached out to Bryan’s office for additional comment.
