Judge blocks Trump administration plan to restructure housing grants

A federal judge on Wednesday halted the Trump administration’s plan to overhaul a decades-old grant program targeting housing discrimination, siding with fair housing groups that argued the changes hindered their ability to work.

U.S. District Judge Myong Joun, who was appointed by former President Biden, ruled that the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) failed to explain the reasoning behind moving forward with “sweeping changes” that would take away money from more than 100 nonprofit recipients and narrow the recipient pool.

The Fair Housing Initiative Program (FHIP) run by the agency has provided funding to nonprofit organizations that investigate complaints of housing discrimination and assist tenants and homebuyers under the Fair Housing Act.

According to attorneys representing the fair housing groups, HUD has historically distributed more than 100 grants, providing funding that ranged from $75,000 to $425,000.

The administration instead proposed distributing $46 million of the $56 million appropriated by Congress toward five larger grant awards. One grant, worth $25 million, was designated for a law school, while another $10 million would be available to a state or local agency.

The move was challenged by the National Fair Housing Alliance and the Massachusetts Fair Housing Center in court in July. The nonprofit groups argue the trimmed funds would be detrimental to the housing enforcement work of many organizations that depend on the funds.

Joun sided with the plaintiffs, agreeing HUD had not shown why such a major shift in funding distribution was necessary.

“The effect of HUD’s restructure effectively bars the very housing organizations that have been effectuating FHIP’s mission year after year since its enactment,” Joun wrote in his ruling.

The judge ordered the agency to return to its original framework for distributing the funds.

The administration defended the changes as an effort to modernize the program and attract a wider range of participants.

It also sought to add new policy requirements to receive funding, including requiring applicants to comply with the administration’s positions on “gender ideology” and immigration.

Lila Miller, an attorney representing the groups, praised the decision, telling Reuters it “rightfully recognizes the stakes at issue and protects the rule of law.”