Mayor Karen Bass skipped a congressional hearing on Los Angeles homelessness spending Tuesday, Sept. 15. She called the federal probe "the latest attack on Los Angeles by the Trump administration."

The House Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency had summoned Bass to testify at a hearing titled "Fixing Fraud and Failure in Federally Funded Homelessness Services." The panel, chaired by Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), is investigating whether more than $1 billion in federal funds sent to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) since 2021 reached the people it was meant to help.

Bass's attorney, David Michaelson, notified the subcommittee in a Sept. 4 letter that the mayor "is not available on that date," according to Our Weekly. Michaelson did not publicly explain the scheduling conflict or offer an alternative date.

Instead of appearing on Capitol Hill, Bass attended a groundbreaking ceremony for the rebuilding of the fire-damaged Palisades Recreation Center, the SGV Tribune reported. Her public schedule showed the event starting about two hours after the hearing was set to begin, according to LAist.

At the hearing, Burchett said Bass "seems intent on evading accountability, but she knows we will not let her off the hook." He told the Los Angeles Times afterward that he was willing to use the "fullest extent of the law" and possibly issue subpoenas to compel her testimony.

A spokesperson for Burchett told the Daily Signal that all options remain on the table regarding a potential subpoena.

Bass's office had collected records the subcommittee requested and expected to turn them over by Sept. 14. Whether those documents were actually submitted by the deadline remains unclear.

In a statement released as the hearing began, Bass accused the administration of staging political theater. In an interview with MS NOW before the hearing, she criticized the cost of complying with the document request. "They also asked for a ton of documents," Bass said. "You can imagine how much money is being wasted, spent, because you have to have attorneys."

The hearing comes as LAHSA's federal funding hangs in limbo. In June, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) suspended further federal funding to LAHSA. A federal judge blocked that suspension, but the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals stayed the judge's order the week before the hearing, throwing LAHSA's funding status back into doubt.

Nearly $241 million already earmarked for the Los Angeles region by Congress is at stake, along with future homelessness funding.

On the same day Bass skipped the hearing, LAHSA's governing commission voted unanimously not to apply to retain its federal administrative roles. The vote effectively forfeits duties that include running the annual homeless count and operating the region's homeless database. Applicants to replace LAHSA have until Sept. 25 to file. LA County's Department of Homeless Services and Housing is applying for all four federal roles; the city is applying for at least two.

Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.), the top Democrat on the subcommittee, called the proceedings an unserious political show targeting vulnerable Americans.

Bass faces a reelection challenge from Councilmember Nithya Raman on Nov. 3. No date has been set for a potential subpoena or follow-up hearing.