Domestic Violence, Housing, and Youth Organizations File Lawsuit Challenging Trump Administration’s Funding Restrictions on Housing Grants

By Kayla Blackwell, NLIHC Housing Policy Analyst and Kayla Springer, NLIHC Policy Intern 

A nationwide coalition of domestic violence, housing, homelessness, and youth organizations has filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration’s restriction on federal funding. Specifically, plaintiffs in the lawsuit are seeking restoration of grants administered by HUD and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) which provide life-saving support to survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, LGBTQ+ youth, and people experiencing homelessness. The case, Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence v. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. et al., challenges funding requirements such as restrictions on diversity, equity, and inclusion (“DEI”) activities, and prohibitions on support for transgender individuals, among other vague mandates that threaten critical services for survivors, youth, and people experiencing homelessness.  

The lawsuit calls on the court to block the enforcement of the Trump Administration’s anti-equity requirements for federal grants administered by HUD and HHS, which were not authorized by Congress and were instead enacted through executive orders and policy changes at HUD and HHS. In particular, the plaintiffs challenge prohibitions on programs that “promote DEI” or “gender ideology” and threats of financial penalty for service providers that continue to support LGBTQ+ individuals and communities. Facing funding drawbacks because of these requirements, housing service providers have been forced to choose between compliance and providing life-saving services for marginalized populations.  

There are 22 plaintiffs in the case, including the House of Hope Community Development Corporation, the Community Care Alliance, and the Rhode Island Coalition to End Homelessness, among others. Plaintiffs are represented by Democracy Forward, the National Women’s Law Center, Jacobson Lawyers Group, Amy Romero and Mary Dunn for the Lawyers’ Committee for Rhode Island, and Lynette Labinger for the ACLU Foundation of Rhode Island.  

Read more about the lawsuit here.  

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