[[link removed]]
20 STATES SUE THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION OVER CUTS TO HOMELESS
PERMANENT HOUSING FUNDING
[[link removed]]
Katherine Hapgood
November 25, 2025
Politico
[[link removed]]
*
[[link removed]]
*
*
[[link removed]]
_ A coalition of attorneys general and governors filed a lawsuit
against the Trump administration's new conditions and cuts to a
Department of Housing and Urban Development permanent housing program.
_
New York Attorney General Letitia James is leading a coalition of
attorneys general and governors challenging the Trump administration's
changes to a grant program that provides permanent housing to people
experiencing homelessness. |, Seth Wenig/AP
A coalition of 19 attorneys general and two governors on Tuesday sued
the Trump administration
[[link removed]]
over policy changes that would place new conditions on and
significantly cut funding for permanent housing for people
experiencing homelessness.
The coalition, led by New York Attorney General Letitia James, is
seeking a court order blocking the “administration’s cuts and
illegal new conditions” on the Department of Housing and Urban
Development’s Continuum of Care program funding
[[link removed]].
More than half of the 2026 funding for HUD’s Continuum of Care
program, which partners with local organizations to connect people
experiencing homelessness to housing and resources, will be cut for
permanent housing assistance and moved to temporary transitional
housing assistance with some work or service requirements. The policy
change was first reported by POLITICO
[[link removed]].
The new conditions placed on the program would also give HUD the
ability to deny funding for organizations that acknowledge the
existence of transgender or nonbinary individuals.
“Communities across the country depend on Continuum of Care funds to
provide housing and other resources to our most vulnerable
neighbors,” said James in a press release. “These funds help keep
tens of thousands of people from sleeping on the streets every night.
I will not allow this administration to cut off these funds and put
vital housing and support services at risk.”
The coalition of mainly Democratic-led states argues in the lawsuit
[[link removed]]
that HUD’s new conditions on the funding are “unlawful and
unconstitutional,” alleging that the administration “cannot impose
its own conditions on funds that Congress mandated should be
distributed based solely on need.”
The lawsuit accuses the Trump administration of violating the
Administrative Procedure Act and Congress’ “constitutional power
to control spending.”
A HUD spokesperson said “HUD stands by its FY2025 Continuum of Care
reforms.”
“HUD is dismayed that the plaintiffs have chosen to misuse the
Courts and pursue this delaying tactic to serve their own personal
political agenda at the expense of the homeless individuals, youth and
families now living on our Nation’s streets. Their use of the courts
for political means seeks to prevent nearly $4 billion of aid to flow
nationwide to assist those in need. HUD intends to mount a vigorous
defense to this meritless legal action,” the spokesperson said in a
statement.
The case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of
Rhode Island and will be decided by Judge Mary S. McElroy, who was
appointed by President Donald Trump in 2019 but first nominated by
former President Barack Obama.
McElroy has blocked other recent funding cuts and freezes
[[link removed]]
by the Trump administration.
Earlier this month, HUD imposed a cap on the amount of program funds
that can support permanent housing. Previously, there was not a
specific limit and around 90 percent of funds supported permanent
housing. Under the new cap, no more than 30 percent of these funds can
support permanent housing.
HUD Secretary Scott Turner has argued that the policy change is a
necessary shift from what the Trump administration considers to be a
failed “housing first” model that prioritizes permanent housing
without preconditions, such as getting a job or seeking treatment. The
agency has said the current policy has fueled a “homeless industrial
complex” and does not address the root causes of homelessness.
“What we’ve done is take this Biden-era slush fund, called the
Continuum of Care, and turned it into not just housing, but also
treatment and transitional housing,” Turner said on Fox Business
last week.
The funding cuts could put 170,000 people at risk of experiencing
homelessness, according to internal HUD documentation previously
obtained by POLITICO. HUD has maintained that the changes will include
specific protections for children, veterans and seniors.
Different factions of lawmakers have sent letters to the agency with
multiple requests, including extending funding for CoC projects
expiring in 2026, reversing the policy changes or answering various
questions about implementation.
Additionally, 1,001 national, state and local organizations sent a
letter to Congress on Monday urging that lawmakers include language
directing HUD to renew all existing CoC program grants expiring in
2026 for a full year in the upcoming Transportation-Housing and Urban
Development appropriations bill.
A group of 22 House Republicans asked for the same one-year funding
extension in a letter to the agency
[[link removed]]
earlier this month.
House and Senate Democrats have urged in letters to HUD to rescind the
policy change, submit documentation on how the agency will complete
the quick application turnaround for housing project funding and
extend funding for grants expiring in 2026.
Senate Banking ranking member Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said in a
statement that Trump’s “draconian changes to the Continuum of Care
program could force 170,000 people out of permanent housing and back
onto the street. Congress, state leaders, all of us should be pushing
back against the Administration’s cruel move that will dramatically
exacerbate the homelessness crisis in cities, towns, and suburbs
across the country.”
Rep. Mike Flood (R-Neb.), chair of the House Financial Services
Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance said that while he doesn’t
typically discuss pending litigation, he’s “been working with the
administration on policy to build more housing, drive housing costs
down, and ensure that existing federal funds are spent in a way that
rewards success and drives positive results for the American
people.”
Other states included as plaintiffs in the lawsuit are Arizona,
California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Kentucky,
Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey,
Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin,
as well as the District of Columbia.
_Katherine Hapgood reports on economic and small business policy in
Congress at POLITICO._
* homelessness
[[link removed]]
* housing policy
[[link removed]]
* lawsuit
[[link removed]]
*
[[link removed]]
*
*
[[link removed]]
INTERPRET THE WORLD AND CHANGE IT
Submit via web
[[link removed]]
Submit via email
Frequently asked questions
[[link removed]]
Manage subscription
[[link removed]]
Visit xxxxxx.org
[[link removed]]
Bluesky [[link removed]]
Facebook [[link removed]]
[link removed]
To unsubscribe, click the following link:
[link removed]
