WASHINGTON — U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge announced Monday she is stepping down from the agency.

In an exclusive interview with USA Today, Fudge said she would leave March 22 to retire after nearly 50 years of public service.

Fudge, 71, was the second Black woman to run the agency. She came in during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and amid a housing crisis.

“I do believe strongly that I have done just about everything I could do at HUD for this administration as we go into this crazy, silly season of an election,” she told USA Today.

Before Fudge took over HUD, she was a member of Congress from 2008 to 2021 representing Ohio’s 11th Congressional District that includes Cleveland and Akron. She also served as chair of the Congressional Black Caucus.

“It has always been my belief that government can and should work for the people,” Fudge said in a statement. “The people HUD serves are those who are often left out and left behind. These are my people. They serve as my motivation for everything we have been able to accomplish.”

She is one of the few members of Biden’s Cabinet to resign. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh stepped down last year for a top job in the players union of the National Hockey League.