A coalition of 16 Democratic state attorneys general have filed a lawsuit against the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), claiming the agency used threats to withhold funding from state and local fair housing enforcement agencies.
In their lawsuit, the attorneys general alleged the Trump administration is illegally undermining the states’ ability to combat housing discrimination through an ideologically motivated agenda that includes unlawful conditions imposed on HUD program funding.
As an example of their complaint, the attorneys general highlighted a September 2025 HUD guidance threatening to decertify the states from program funding unless they stopped enforcing crucial protections against housing discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, language, criminal records and source of income. Those protections are part of the fair housing laws within the states.
The coalition’s lawsuit alleges that HUD’s guidance violates the Spending Clause of the US Constitution and the federal Administrative Procedure Act, which governs how federal agencies implement rule changes.
“These actions are part of a broader, ongoing effort by the Trump administration to subvert the legal protections our country has put in place to combat discrimination and to tear down the hard-fought progress we have made for civil rights,” said Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul. “Courts have consistently rejected the administration’s attempts to use congressionally mandated programs to coerce states into adopting President Trump’s preferred policies. I will continue to fight for fair access to housing for all Americans and for the rule of law.”
Raoul is co-leading the coalition of states with California Attorney General Rob Bonta. Joining them in filing the lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.
