Attorney General Neronha co-leads lawsuit against the Trump Administration for upending support for homeless Americans

Published on Tuesday, November 25, 2025

Attorney General Peter F. Neronha today co-led a coalition of 18 other attorneys general and two governors in filing a lawsuit in the federal District of Rhode Island against the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for illegally upending supports for tens of thousands of Americans experiencing homelessness with abrupt changes that will limit access to long-term housing and other services. 

HUD is drastically changing its Continuum of Care 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 unlawful conditions on access to the funding. These requirements 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 in contrast to HUD’s previous guidance and Congress’ approval.

“This Administration continues to punch down by targeting the most vulnerable Americans, and unfortunately this most recent attack on homeless individuals is consistent with their modus operandi,” said Attorney General Neronha. “The President and his Administration don’t care about making life easier or better for Americans; they only care about political capitulation, consolidating power, and further enriching the wealthy. If allowed, these cuts and conditions would further exacerbate already dire conditions for homeless Rhode Islanders. We will succeed here, as we have nearly every time in the last 10 months, because we are right on the law. And we will continue to fight for all Americans, especially those who can’t fight for themselves.”

Previous changes to the grant conditions have been incremental to not disrupt providers’ ability to provide housing and to budget for their programs well in advance. These wholesale changes will create administrative chaos and likely result in thousands losing housing.

For decades, HUD has helped local and regional coalitions plan and coordinate housing and services for people experiencing homelessness through Continuum of Care 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 preconditions like sobriety or a minimum personal income. These policies have been proven to improve housing stability and public health while reducing the costs of homelessness to individuals and their communities.

Rhode Island relies on Continuum of Care as a principal source of federal funding for its homelessness programs. Administered through RIHousing, Rhode Island’s Continuum of Care grant currently supports permanent housing for at least 273 people in 216 households annually. Overall, 84% of Rhode Island’s $17.3 million in Continuum of Care funding is for permanent housing projects, including RIHousing’s FY24 contract for $4,964,705. The new cap of 30% would reduce the available amount for the entire state of Rhode Island. This reduction would derail long-term efforts to reduce homelessness and increase burdens on other health, safety, and support services.

Previously, HUD has directed approximately 90% of Continuum of Care 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 aren’t renewed.

Additionally, HUD is planning to withhold funds to applicants that acknowledge the existence of trans and gender-diverse people, de-prioritize services to people with mental health issues or substance-use disorder, and discriminate against localities whose approach to homelessness differs from the administration’s.

The complaint alleges HUD violated its own regulations by not engaging in rulemaking before issuing the changes and violated the law by not receiving congressional authorization for these new conditions, many of which are directly contrary to congressionally passed statutes and HUD’s own regulations. The plaintiffs also argue that HUD’s actions are arbitrary and capricious several times over, as HUD has not explained the abandonment of their own longstanding policies or consider the consequences of tens of thousands of vulnerable people being suddenly evicted. The agency explicitly encouraged grantees to implement Housing First policies and to focus on the particular needs of LGBTQ+ individuals as recently as last year.

The complaint is led by Attorney General Neronha, Washington Attorney General Nick Brown, and New York Attorney General Letitia James, and is joined by the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oregon, Vermont, Wisconsin, and the governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania.

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