Attorney General James Wins Case Stopping Trump Administration’s Latest Attempt to Jeopardize Funds to Fight Homelessness

August 7, 2026

NEW YORK - New York Attorney General Letitia James and a coalition of 20 other attorneys general and the governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania today won their case challenging the Trump administration's illegal conditions on Fiscal Year 2026 funds for the Continuum of Care (CoC) program. The CoC program provides billions of dollars for community organizations across the country to provide housing and services for families experiencing homelessness. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has repeatedly tried to impose unlawful conditions on these funds that would prevent them from going towards critical permanent supportive housing and other services. After Attorney General James and a coalition of 18 other attorneys general and the governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania won their prior case against HUD for imposing these conditions on Fiscal Year 2025 funds, the administration implemented new conditions on 2026 funds. Attorney General James and the coalition again sued and today won a court order preventing these conditions from being implemented for Fiscal Year 2026.

"Continuum of Care funds help keep some of the most vulnerable in our communities in safe and stable housing," said Attorney General James. "It is shameful that this administration has tried repeatedly to break the law in order to push their political agenda and jeopardize this critical program. We have once again stood up to enforce the law and halt their cruel agenda, protecting vital housing and other services nationwide."

Funding for CoC supports vital resources for those most at risk of homelessness, such as veterans, those with disabilities, and transgender individuals. The permanent supportive housing that CoC provides ensures long-term stability and shelter for those in need. In New York, 24 different regional CoC organizations receive over $320 million to provide housing and other services. 94 percent of these funds are dedicated to permanent housing, supporting 13,861 households statewide.

Attorney General James and the coalition alleged that HUD's Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for Fiscal Year 2026 imposed illegal conditions on funds that would effectively cap permanent housing funding below levels necessary to maintain existing projects, putting tens of thousands of people at risk of losing their homes. Attorney General James and the coalition argued in their lawsuit that these conditions violated the Administrative Procedure Act.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island today ruled that the 2026 NOFO violated the law and vacated it in its entirety, requiring HUD to issue a new NOFO that complies with the law.

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