On January 17, the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs once again met in Executive Session to vote on the nominations of Robert Hunter Kurtz to be HUD Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing (PIH); and Brian Montgomery, to be HUD Assistant Secretary for Housing – Federal Housing Commissioner. The nominations were resubmitted to the Senate by the Trump White House after failing to receive a floor vote for confirmation before the end of the first session of the 115th Congress in December and failing to be carried over into the current second session.
The nominations were approved by voice vote and reported favorably to the full Senate. However, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) is recorded as voting no on both nominations, and Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) are recorded as voting no on the Montgomery nomination.
Since a “hold” was placed on the Kurtz nomination during the first session—preventing the nomination to be brought up for a floor vote by an unnamed senator for an undisclosed reason—it is highly probable another hold may be once again placed on the Kurtz nomination. CLPHA and other stakeholders have asked Senate leadership to move the Kurtz nomination to a floor vote for confirmation as quickly as possible.