Attorney General Tong Secures Order Protecting Federal Support for Homelessness Services

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08/10/2026

Attorney General Tong Secures Order Protecting Federal Support for Homelessness Services

(Hartford, CT) - Attorney General William Tong announced today a new court order protecting federal homelessness funding after Connecticut and a multistate coalition for a second time defeated the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) illegal attempt to cap funding for permanent housing.

For more than two decades, HUD has embraced a commitment to permanent housing programs and the Housing First model, which prioritizes rapid placement in permanent housing without requiring people to first meet conditions such as sobriety or a minimum income threshold. But the current federal administration has rejected that commitment and undermined the Continuum of Care (CoC) program.

"For the second time now, we sued and we won to stop Trump's drastic, cruel conditions on homelessness funding. His erratic and irrational plan would have thrown thousands of people out of their homes and onto the streets. We will keep fighting for as long as it takes to protect safe and stable housing," said Attorney General Tong.

"We are grateful to Attorney General Tong and multistate coalition for standing up for communities, providers, and the people who depend on the Continuum of Care program," said Sarah Fox, CEO of the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness. "This ruling is an important victory, but our work is not over. HUD must now act quickly and lawfully to ensure that uncertainty around the FY 2026 competition does not lead to disruptions in funding for the housing and services people rely on every day. We will remain vigilant and continue advocating for the stability of Connecticut's homelessness response system."

"Every one of the 2,080 people in Connecticut whose housing was on the line has a name, a story, and a right to stability and I'm grateful Attorney General Tong fought as hard as he did to protect that. This win shows what's possible when we refuse to let vulnerable families become collateral damage in Washington's political battles," said House Majority Leader Jason Rojas.

"Our providers and our advocates in Connecticut know the best practices to help people struggling, and I'm thrilled their work will continue without issue with this ruling. I'm grateful to Attorney General Tong and the many advocates standing up to fight changes that would have increased homelessness in our state and nation," said Sen. Martha Marx, co-chair of the Housing Committee.

In June, the states won a separate case against HUD in federal court in Rhode Island regarding the agency's decision last year to impose illegal conditions on billions of dollars in funding for the CoC program, including an attempt to impose a cap on the amount of CoC funds that can support permanent supportive housing.

After that cap was struck down as unlawful, HUD changed its tactics. They issued a notice of funding opportunity that would have created a $1.3 billion set-aside for new projects prioritizing such things as transitional housing, which would have resulted in a de facto cap on permanent housing. That shift threatened housing for at least 97,000 residents of CoC-funded permanent housing across the country, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness. According to that report, 54 percent of permanent housing beds in Connecticut are funded through the CoC program. HUD's proposed changes could have resulted in 2,080 people in Connecticut losing housing, and the loss of $35.4 million in funding for permanent housing.

Attorney General Tong again joined a coalition of states in suing to block these harmful changes. Last week, the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island granted critical parts of the coalition's motion for summary judgment, ruling that HUD's set-aside was unlawful and cannot be implemented.

The lawsuit was led by New York Attorney General Letitia James, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha, and Washington Attorney General Nick Brown. Attorney General Tong joined the suit with the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin, and the governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania.

Media Contact:

Elizabeth Benton [email protected]

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