Filed
in
the

U.S.
District
Court
for
the
Western
District
of


Washington,
the
suit
takes
aim
at
what
it
calls
unconstitutional
funding
stipulations
that
constitute
“overreach
by
the
executive
branch.”

Led
by
King
County,
Washington
—
the
state’s
most
populous
county
that
encompasses

Seattle
—
the
suit
also
includes
the
cities
of

New
York,

San
Francisco,

Boston
and
Columbus,

Ohio;
as
well
as
Santa
Clara
County,
California,
and
the
Washington
state
counties
of
Pierce
and
Snohomish.

The
nature
of
the
lawsuit
has
become
common
practice
for
communities
aiming
to
challenge
sweeping
cuts
and
rescissions
of
previously
appropriated
federal
funds.

Similar
to
other
suits,
this
one
claims
that
the
executive
branch
cannot
unilaterally
change
federal
grant
conditions
without
the
expressed
approval
of
Congress.

“Despite
this,
the

Trump
administration
has
added
several
unlawful
conditions
to
the
HUD
Continuum
of
Care
grant
and
the
FTA
Master
Agreement,”
according
to
King
County
officials.

“I
have
a
duty
to
fully
enforce
the
law
and
protect
these
important
services
for
our
residents,”
King
County
Executive
Shannon
Braddock
said
in
a
statement
announcing
the
suit.
“That’s
why
we
are
joining
other
jurisdictions
from
around
the
country
to
ensure
the
administration
can’t
disregard
congressionally
approved
processes
and
bully
local
governments
to
comply
with
their
political
agenda
at
the
expense
of
being
able
to
deliver
critical
services.”

New
York
City
was
awarded
$53.5
million
in
“Continuum
of
Care
funds
from
HUD
for
the
coming
year
that
it
was
planning
to
provide
to
nonprofit
providers
of
permanent
supportive
housing
for
chronically
homeless
households
that
struggle
with
disabilities,
HIV/AIDS,
mental
health,
substance
abuse,
family
trauma,
and
other
challenges,”
the
city
explained
in
a
statement.

If
the
city
were
to
lose
these
funds,
it
would
“directly
threaten
the
housing
stability
of
more
than
2,700
households
and
may
put
thousands
more
households
in
New
York
City
at
risk
of
losing
their
housing.”

These
conditions
imposed
by
HUD
on
previously
awarded
grants
approved
by
Congress
“are
illegal
under
longstanding
constitutional
and
statutory
principles,”
according
to
a
statement
from
Muriel
Goode-Trufant,
New
York
City’s
corporation
counsel.

“Our
legal
effort
seeks
to
protect
tens
of
millions
of
dollars
in
funding
that
support
vital
social
services
in
our
communities,”
she
said.

The
plaintiffs
are
also
seeking
a
temporary
injunction
this
week
that
would
block
HUD
from
imposing
or
enforcing
the
grant
conditions
at
issue.
A
ruling
on
this
request
is
expected
by
the
end
of
the
week,
according
to
King
County.

Upon
his
confirmation
to
lead
HUD,
Secretary

Scott
Turner
has
railed
against
policies
that
he
and
the

White
House
believe
promote
diversity,
equity
and
inclusion
(DEI)
in
government,
including
homelessness
assistance
programs.

In
a

March
post
on
social
media
platform

X,
Turner
said
that
HUD
Continuum
of
Care
(COC)
programs
were
“meant
to
provide
funds
to
end
homelessness,
unfortunately
it
was
used
as
a
tool
by
the
left
to
push
a
woke
agenda
at
the
expense
of
people
in
need.”

COC
funds,
he
went
on
to
say,
“will
not
promote
DEI,
enforce
‘gender
ideology,’
support
abortion,
subsidize
illegal
immigration,
and
discriminate
against
faith-based
groups,”
he
said.
“HUD
will
use
all
available
resources
to
fight
homelessness.”

Transportation
Secretary
Sean
Duffy
has

similarly
sought
to
take
a
hard
line
against
any
programs
or
funding
that
he
said
could
support
DEI
initiatives.