A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration’s attempt to cut off Los Angeles homeless services funding, saying the move was arbitrary and improper. U.S. District Judge David Carter issued a preliminary injunction and ordered the Department of Housing and Urban Development to restore the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority’s eligibility to apply for federal money.
The ruling stems from HUD’s June 11 decision to remove LAHSA as the funding administrator, a move that prevented the agency from applying for roughly $240 million in federal grants on behalf of 140 homeless service organizations. HUD said the action was based on more than a decade of audit findings and negative reporting, but LAHSA argued the administration was using funding control to force a shift away from local “housing-first” policy and toward shorter-term housing and drug treatment requirements.
Carter sharply criticized HUD, saying the agency was trying to take away authority that Congress had given to local communities. He said the funding cutoff would cause serious harm to the public interest and warned it could ultimately lead to homeless deaths and push more than 11,000 unhoused people onto the streets.
The judge also ordered HUD to submit a report to the court by Oct. 13 on possible replacement agencies for LAHSA. Los Angeles County’s regional development department and city officials have told the court they could take on the role separately or together. The decision came less than a week after a Rhode Island federal court struck down another HUD spending plan, adding to the legal setbacks facing the administration.
