Newsom sues over feds’ homeless housing cuts that target Sacramento programs
California Gov. Gavin Newsom Tuesday filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over announced cuts to a federal grant program that could cause 170,000 people to lose their housing across the country.
If the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development implements the change, Sacramento County stands to lose 1,037 housing units, currently home to about 1,431 people, said Kim Winters, a spokesperson for the nonprofit Sacramento Steps Forward, which administers the federal funding locally. Many residents in these units are disabled.
The nonprofit must now compete with other cities for funding it previously relied on, Winters said.
“We are working closely with local partners and the broader community of providers to prepare a competitive local application on a shortened timeline,” Winters said. “This includes realigning projects with HUD’s new priorities, identifying efficiencies, and protecting as many housing placements as possible.”
The change would cause 170,000 people nationwide to lose their housing, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, the organization the county invited to present at a meeting last month. That includes 26,952 in California
“These changes include a number of arbitrary and senseless new rules that will disadvantage and defund housing programs with a proven record of success in addressing homelessness and will have devastating consequences for communities in California and across the country,” Newsom’s office said in a news release.
Last year, the federal program awarded California’s Continuums of Care more than $683 million, 90% of which went to permanent housing projects, the release stated.
Many of the people in the housing are seniors, families with children, veterans, and people with disabilities, the Newsom release said. The cuts would also make it harder to get additional homeless people off the streets and into housing.
The Newsom administration said the cuts by the White House would also impede on the progress he has made as governor regarding the homeless crisis.
“In 2024, while homelessness increased nationally by over 18%, California limited its overall increase to just 3% — a lower rate than in 40 other states,” the release said. “California also achieved the nation’s largest reduction in veteran homelessness and made meaningful progress in reducing youth homelessness.”
California Attorney General Rob Bonta is also a plaintiff in the suit, filed in federal court; as are officials in the states of Washington; New York; Rhode Island; Arizona; Colorado; Connecticut; Delaware; Washington, D.C.; Illinois; Kentucky; Maine; Maryland; Massachusetts; Michigan; Minnesota; New Jersey; Oregon; Pennsylvania; Vermont; and Wisconsin.
The defendants are HUD and Eric Scott Turner, HUD secretary.
It alleges Constitutional violations, and asks for a judge to block HUD from carrying out the cuts.
This story was originally published November 25, 2025 at 4:43 PM.
