New York Attorney General Letitia James and Connecticut Attorney General William Tong were among the 20 attorneys general and two state governors who have won at least a temporary victory over the Trump administration’s cuts to a $3 billion federal program that had been combating homelessness. They filed a lawsuit in federal court in Rhode Island last month seeking to reverse the cuts to the program made under the Trump administration.
Judge Mary McElroy of the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island granted a preliminary injunction enjoining the Trump administration’s Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) from implementing or enforcing its proposed changes to the Continuum of Care grant program and instructed HUD to maintain the status quo until HUD issues notice of a new funding opportunity that complies with the law and the court’s order.
In their lawsuit, the 20 attorneys general and two governors argued that HUD’s actions were arbitrary and capricious. They said HUD made no effort to explain the abandonment of its own longstanding policies, failed to reckon with the obvious consequences of abruptly terminating funding for housing occupied by formerly homeless families and individuals, and violated the law by not following the timeline Congress set for this program and not receiving congressional authorization for the new conditions it had imposed. The plaintiffs also argued HUD violated its own regulations by not engaging in rulemaking before issuing the changes.
“These were drastic and cruel changes that would have thrown people out on the streets and decimated housing supports nationwide,” Tong said.
James explained, “Continuum of Care funds help keep tens of thousands of people in their homes and provide essential services to the most vulnerable, including families and veterans. This administration’s efforts to undermine this vital program are illegal. I will keep fighting to protect these vital resources that our communities depend on to house those in need.”
In New York, 24 different regional service providers receive more than $320 million to provide housing and other services throughout the state. Ninety-four percent of these funds are dedicated to permanent housing, supporting 13,861 households statewide.
In addition to James and Tong, the plaintiffs in the lawsuit were the attorneys general of Washington State, Rhode Island, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, Wisconsin, and the governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania.
