A coalition of 19 state attorneys general and two governors has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, challenging changes to a Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) grant program that provides permanent housing for people experiencing homelessness, according to a Politico report.
The effort, led by New York Attorney General Letitia James, seeks a court order blocking funding cuts and the “illegal new conditions” imposed on the Continuum of Care (CoC) program, as the suit calls them.
Earlier this month, the administration signaled a shift away from long-term homelessness assistance toward short-term programs that impose work requirements, mandate treatment for mental illness or addiction, and support law-enforcement efforts to dismantle homeless encampments. The pivot appears in a 128-page funding notice for the program.
The CoC network—about 400 local organizations that distribute federal dollars to roughly 8,000 projects nationwide—oversees more than $3.9 billion in grants. The funds serve as the primary federal support system for people experiencing homelessness, including elderly and disabled individuals, and historically have prioritized long-term, housing-first solutions.
States participating in the lawsuit include Washington, New York, Rhode Island, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Wisconsin, and Washington, D.C.
“Communities across the country depend on Continuum of Care funds to provide housing and other resources to our most vulnerable neighbors,” James said 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 lawsuit alleges the policy changes are unlawful and unconstitutional, arguing the administration cannot impose new conditions on funds Congress mandated be distributed based solely on need—violating the Administrative Procedure Act. The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island.
“Under the Biden administration, about $12 billion was spent on Continuum of Care… yet homelessness went up almost 33% over the last several years,” HUD Secretary Scott Turner said in a Fox Business interview. “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.”
Critics of the new approach say it would cut federal support for permanent housing programs by roughly two-thirds next year, potentially putting as many as 170,000 people at risk of returning to homelessness.
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