A federal judge on Monday chastised the Trump administration for withdrawing a blueprint outlining how programs aimed at helping homeless people qualify for federal funding an hour before the court hearing that was set to review its legality.
The Notice of Funding Opportunity has been the subject of concern among housing advocates — including the National Alliance to End Homelessness, one of the plaintiffs that sued to stop the notice — who argued against cutting the funding that keeps thousands of Americans off the street.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s announcement of the withdrawal said it still intended to make “revisions” to the NOFO, but seemed even to catch its attorney — who couldn’t answer who had made the decision to withdraw it — off guard.
“Are we going to see another 2025 [Notice of Funding Opportunity] without the proper procedure in place tomorrow?” U.S. District Court Judge Mary S. McElroy asked the agency’s lawyer. She said that there is a process for “agency action and agency rulemaking,” explaining, “It’s not by tweets and it’s not by last-minute orders or last minute withdrawals.”
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“It feels like intentional chaos,” McElroy added.
The Trump administration’s counsel argued the plaintiffs no longer had a case against the agency.
“The [Temporary Restraining Order] is now moot because we’ve withdrawn the 2025 NOFO,” said HUD’s lawyer. “To the extent that plaintiffs were entitled to any relief on this emergency posture, which would have been the stay of the 2025 NOFO, they effectively already have that.”
The plaintiffs disagreed.
Part of the lawsuit hinges around the timing of the NOFO, which came two months later than usual and dramatically shifted federal funding for supportive permanent housing administered by local and regional agencies.
The plaintiffs’ attorneys argued that by withdrawing the NOFO, the Trump administration “compounded” the harms, since funding for some Continuum of Care programs starts drying up in January.
The judge gave HUD until Dec. 15 to explain its decision to rescind its notice, and all parties agreed to meet on Dec. 19, when the judge is expected to issue a final ruling.
A spokesperson for HUD told NOTUS the department “fully stands by” the 2025 notice of funding, and that it “will reissue the NOFO as quickly as possible with technical corrections.”
“The Department intends to make resources available in a timely manner so grantees with measurable results can continue to support vulnerable populations,” the statement from the spokesperson went on. “The Department remains fully committed to making long overdue reforms to its homelessness assistance programs.”
The Trump administration’s original NOFO dramatically scaled back funding to Continuum of Care programs — which are local and regional agencies in charge of managing homelessness — and how Continuums of Care could qualify for the funding.
At the same time, the notice capped HUD’s spending on supportive housing to a third of what it previously was, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness’ review.
Some housing advocates warned that approximately 170,000 people who relied on aid through this funding could be pushed back into homelessness next year.
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