On November 25, 2025, Washington Attorney General Nick Brown, New York Attorney General Letitia James, and Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha led a coalition of 19 attorneys general plus the governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania in filing suit against the Trump administration to protect billions of dollars in grants from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that provide housing and other critical services to help fight homelessness.  

For decades, HUD has helped local and regional coalitions plan and coordinate housing and services for people experiencing homelessness through Continuum of Care (CoC) grants, which were created by Congress. Providers pair these grants with other funding sources and rely on the predictability and continuity of the grants to support the unhoused. HUD has a longstanding policy of encouraging what is known as a “Housing First” model that provides stable housing to individuals without requiring preconditions like sobriety or a minimum personal income. These policies are proven to improve housing stability and public health while reducing the costs of homelessness to individuals and their communities. 

In November 2025, the Trump administration imposed new conditions on its CoC grant program in violation of congressional intent by dramatically reducing the amount of grant funds that can be spent on permanent housing and project renewals and putting new conditions on access to the funding. Previously, HUD has directed approximately 90% of CoC funding to support permanent housing, but the agency’s new rule – which Congress never authorized – would cut that by two-thirds for grants starting in 2026. Similarly, HUD has long allowed grantees to protect around 90% of funding year to year – essentially guaranteeing renewal of projects to ensure that individuals and families living in those projects maintain stable housing. But HUD has slashed this figure, too, to only 30%. These new policies virtually guarantee that tens of thousands of formerly homeless people in permanent housing nationwide will eventually be evicted through no fault of their own when the funds are not renewed. The new requirements also include that providers only recognize two genders, mandate residents accept services as a precondition to obtain housing, and punish providers in localities that do not enforce strict anti-homeless laws, all barriers that are counter to HUD’s previous guidance and Congress’ approval. 

The attorney general coalition’s complaint argues that the administration’s new conditions on CoC funding are unlawful and unconstitutional. The administration cannot impose its own conditions on funds that Congress mandated should be distributed based solely on need. 

Congress designed this program in recognition that homelessness is a crisis that requires immediate stabilization and continuing support to reverse. These changes are designed to trap people in poverty and then punish them for being poor. Attorney General Nick Brown