WASHINGTON STATE - Attorney General Nick Brown, along with attorneys general from 19 other states, has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration. The legal battle focuses on new conditions and funding cuts to a permanent housing program from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
New York Attorney General Letitia James is leading the coalition of attorneys general and governors filing the suit. The lawsuit centers around HUD's Continuum of Care program, which partners with organizations to connect homeless individuals to housing and resources.
The lawsuit challenges the decision to cut more than half of next year's funding for the program's permanent housing assistance. The funds are now slated to be redirected to temporary housing assistance, which comes with some work or service requirements.
Brown announced the lawsuit, expressing concern over the potential impact on Washington residents.
"These funds help people in Washington going through some of the most difficult situations that you can possibly imagine," Brown said. "We're talking about survivors of domestic violence, families struggling with chronic homelessness, treatment facilities for the foster care system. But the changes that HUD is attempting to make will throw so many people into crisis. People will be forced to re-enter the shelter system, hospitals, jails and behavioral crisis facilities, straining to get by in this moment."
In the lawsuit, the coalition argues that the cuts are unlawful and unconstitutional. They contend that the administration cannot "impose its own conditions on funds that Congress mandated should be distributed based solely on need."
A spokesperson for HUD responded to the lawsuit, expressing disappointment.
The department is "dismayed that the coalition of states is misusing the courts to serve their own political agenda at the expense of homeless people," said the spokesperson. HUD stands by the reforms.
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