Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass resigned from the governing commission of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority last week, days before she was scheduled to face questions from a Republican-led House subcommittee investigating the agency's handling of federal homelessness funds.

Bass, who appointed herself to the 10-member LAHSA commission in late 2023, formally stepped down on September 9 and said she would appoint a replacement. Her office cited time constraints, including her new role as chair of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority board. The mayor also stated that her experience reinforced her view that the city should develop its own homelessness response system rather than continue the joint city-county structure.

The resignation came amid scrutiny from the House Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency. Chairman Tim Burchett sent a letter on September 3 calling on Bass to testify at a September 15 hearing titled “Fixing Fraud and Failure in Federally Funded Homelessness Services.” The panel is examining potential waste, fraud, and abuse in LAHSA’s distribution of federal grants. LAHSA has received more than $1 billion in federal funds since 2021, including $220 million in 2024 alone.

The subcommittee also requested extensive documents from Bass’s office covering communications and records back to January 2020. Those materials were due September 14. Bass’s office responded that she was unavailable to testify due to scheduling conflicts but indicated it would provide the requested information.

Public records show Bass missed 25 of 47 LAHSA commission meetings since joining the board, including more than half in the most recent year analyzed. The agency has faced separate federal scrutiny, with the Department of Housing and Urban Development suspending it from new federal funding earlier this year over concerns about financial management, internal controls, and conflicts of interest. A federal judge later issued a preliminary injunction halting the suspension while litigation proceeds.

Bass has faced criticism from opponents in her reelection race, including City Councilor Nithya Raman, who argued that the mayor’s departure raises questions about oversight of city homelessness spending.

The House panel has said it will proceed with the hearing regardless of whether Bass appears.