Attorney General Tong Sues HUD to Block New Changes to Homelessness Funds

Press Releases

07/07/2026

Attorney General Tong Sues HUD to Block New Changes to Homelessness Funds

(Hartford, CT) - Attorney General William Tong and a coalition of 21 attorneys general and two governors today sued the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for a second time to block unlawful caps on funding for permanent housing projects that would result in tens of thousands of people losing their homes.

Just last month, Attorney General Tong and the coalition 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 Continuum of Care (CoC) program, which supports housing and other services for people experiencing housing instability or homelessness. Congress has prioritized stability in the way the funds are allocated, and the vast majority of CoC funds have traditionally supported permanent housing and other projects that have been shown to work.

On June 1, HUD sought again to re-implement a cap on funding for permanent housing and set other unlawful conditions on the funds. Without action by the court, HUD's actions mean CoC-funded permanent housing projects will lose funding or see it reduced, resulting in tens of thousands of people being evicted back to the streets, with states and local governments left to pick up the pieces.

"Trump tried to impose drastic, cruel conditions on homelessness funding that would have thrown thousands of people out of their homes and onto the streets. We sued, we won, but now Trump is back at it again. His cruelty truly has no bounds. We are heading back to court, and 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 for standing up for Connecticut and for the people and providers who depend on these resources. These dollars keep people housed, support shelters and outreach teams, and help communities respond to homelessness every day. At a time when more people are struggling to afford housing, we should protect the tools that work, not make it harder for states and local communities to bring people indoors and keep them there," said Sarah Fox, Chief Executive Officer of the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness.

"The administration was defeated once already on their seemingly never-ending quest to make life more difficult for the most vulnerable residents of Connecticut. Now they are trying to advance the same harmful conditions under a new name. A federal judge previously ruled that HUD's approach was arbitrary, unlawful, and ignored the real damage it would do to people who've finally found stable housing under Connecticut's Housing First model. If HUD and the Trump administration won't respect our judicial processes, we will keep fighting back until they do. Connecticut families and providers deserve certainty, and I thank Attorney General Tong for staying on top of this and holding HUD accountable, again," said House Majority Leader Jason Rojas.

"Connecticut will not thrive by adapting to this administration's monolithic national approach to homeless response. Our providers know our challenges and have met them strongly with the housing first model we have always had. Funding should not be contingent on approach, it should be contingent on results and as our providers continue to meet the moment we must support them," said Housing Committee Co-Chair Rep. Antonio Felipe.

"The Trump administration already lost in court once trying to strip away people's housing. While it's not a surprise to see them doubling down, it's disturbing they are continuing to seek changes that go against all effective policies to support people experiencing housing insecurity. I have full confidence that Attorney General Tong and his colleagues will again succeed in challenging these proposed changes," said Housing Committee Co-Chair Sen. Martha Marx.

"When systems meant to serve the most vulnerable fail, silence is not an option. This action holds the HUD Continuum of Care accountable and demands transparency and fairness," said Rep. Kadeem Roberts, Chair of the End Homelessness Caucus.

For more than two decades, HUD has embraced a commitment to permanent housing programs and the so-called 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 the commitment to the Housing First model and undermined the CoC program. First, HUD published notices of funding opportunities last year that set a 30% cap on CoC funding that were subsequently found unlawful.

Now, HUD has issued the June 1 notice of funding opportunity that creates a $1.3 billion set-aside for new projects prioritizing such things as transitional housing, which results in a de facto cap on permanent housing. That shift threatens housing for at least 97,000 residents of CoC-funded permanent housing across the country, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness.

The states argue that HUD's actions violate the Administrative Procedure Act for, among other things, failing to proceed with notice-and-comment rulemaking and being arbitrary and capricious. They ask the court to declare that the challenged conditions are illegal and block HUD from implementing them.

Joining Attorney General Tong in filing the lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin, and the governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania.

A copy of the complaint is available here.

Media Contact:

Elizabeth Benton [email protected]

Consumer Inquiries:

860-808-5318 [email protected]

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