On Thursday, May 21, 2026, the Trump Administration's leader on homeless policy, Robert Marbut, will be giving a speech in the Grand America Hotel as part of a conference that begins at noon. A protest will be taking place beginning at 11:30 AM, before the conference begins, on the sidewalk outside the hotel to draw attention to extreme ideas and policies that have been promoted by Robert Marbut and the Trump Administration.
Marbut served as the Executive Director of the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness during the first Trump administration and is currently a senior policy analyst at the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. However, Marbut has been a controversial figure in homeless policy discussion for far longer than that, as can be seen in these news articles and other documents:
In his current role Marbut visits locations around the country to explain the Trump Administration's policies on homelessness. Those policies include proposals to force homeless people into camps and massive cuts to funding for federal housing assistance programs:
Protest organizers were involved with efforts to block the construction of massive detention center for homeless people in Salt Lake City and suspect that Marbut is the federal official who encouraged Utah officials to consider building such a center. "Robert Marbut has been pushing Utah to build a giant homeless campus, and then use the police to force everyone inside, for over a decade," says Crossroads Urban Center's Executive Director, Glenn Bailey. "Criminalizing homelessness does not work. Only housing can end homelessness."
Marbut served as the Executive Director of the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness during the first Trump administration and is currently a senior policy analyst at the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. However, Marbut has been a controversial figure in homeless policy discussion for far longer than that, as can be seen in these news articles and other documents:
- National Low Income Housing Coalition: "Correcting the Record on Robert Marbut's False Claims on Homelessness" (1/31/2020)
- Salt Lake Tribune: "Trump’s top homelessness official has a controversial past in Utah" (1/14/2020)
- Los Angeles Times: "He wanted to ban feeding homeless people. Now he’s about to lead a federal homeless agency" (12/4/2019)
- NPR: "Consultant On Homelessness: Cities Enable The Poor" (11/4/2014)
In his current role Marbut visits locations around the country to explain the Trump Administration's policies on homelessness. Those policies include proposals to force homeless people into camps and massive cuts to funding for federal housing assistance programs:
- Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: "Nearly 3.7 Million People at Risk of Losing Needed Rental Assistance to Harsh Time Limit and Work Requirement Proposal" (April 24, 2026)
- ProPublica: Millions could lose housing aid under Trump plan" (9/29/2025)
- National Low Income Housing Coalition: "President Trump Releases FY27 Budget Request Proposing Significant Cuts to HUD Programs, and Work Requirements and Time Limits on Assisted Households" (4/6/2026)
- National Alliance to End Homelessness: "Understanding Trump’s Executive Order on Homelessness: A Return to Forced Institutionalization" (8/6/2025)
Protest organizers were involved with efforts to block the construction of massive detention center for homeless people in Salt Lake City and suspect that Marbut is the federal official who encouraged Utah officials to consider building such a center. "Robert Marbut has been pushing Utah to build a giant homeless campus, and then use the police to force everyone inside, for over a decade," says Crossroads Urban Center's Executive Director, Glenn Bailey. "Criminalizing homelessness does not work. Only housing can end homelessness."
