A federal judge in Rhode Island has halted a Trump administration attempt to condition federal homelessness funding on alignment with the president’s political stances, calling the move unlawful and rushed.
US district judge Mary McElroy on Friday issued a temporary restraining order preventing the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) from distributing $75m in grants under newly imposed criteria. The ruling also preserves the funds beyond their September 30 expiration date while the case proceeds.
HUD announced the new rules on 5 September, requiring applicants to demonstrate compliance with Trump administration priorities, including cooperation with federal immigration enforcement and adherence to a gender binary.
Applicants would have been required to state that they “will not deny the sex binary in humans or promote the notion that sex is a chosen or mutable characteristic.”
The policy immediately drew legal challenge from the National Alliance to End Homelessness and the Women’s Development Corporation, which warned that vital funds for housing programmes were at risk.
Their lawyers argued that HUD exceeded its authority and attempted to punish jurisdictions such as sanctuary cities whose policies clash with the administration’s agenda.
“I think that it’s unfortunate that we’re here on these things that are done so last minute by these agencies,” McElroy said during a Zoom hearing. “But here we are again.”
Kristen Miller, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said HUD was “blackballing organizations and projects based on the policies of the states and localities that they’ve adopted.”
Justice department attorney Joshua Schopf countered that HUD had broad discretion to attach conditions to funding, insisting “there’s nothing contrary to law here.”
HUD did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The ruling underscores growing judicial pushback against politically driven funding conditions imposed late in Trump’s term.
