Santa Clara County leaders, who filed the lawsuit against HUD<\/a> last December, are hailing the decision as a win for families struggling to remain housed. The administration may choose to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, but Continuum of Care grants remain unchanged for now.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s a victory for the rule of law and prevents further harm while this case continues,\u201d County Counsel Tony LoPresti told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cThis support keeps more than 2,500 people in Santa Clara County stably housed, which is why HUD\u2019s sudden move to change course and defund proven housing solutions is so alarming. It would quite literally pull the rug out from under people who have only recently found stability.\u201d<\/p>\n HUD rescinded its grant funding notice \u2014 an announcement of funds that invites providers to apply \u2014 and issued new guidelines Nov. 13, 2025. In addition to capping funds that have traditionally been set aside for permanent housing, it also attempted to create a new point system for rewarding the grants. Projects aligned with Trump\u2019s agenda would be ranked higher and others that didn\u2019t meet certain requirements would be rejected.<\/p>\n The lawsuit by the county and multiple other governments and nonprofits alleged these actions were illegal \u2014 and so far, federal courts have agreed. In December, a federal judge placed a temporary injunction<\/a> halting Trump\u2019s actions, and the administration appealed.<\/p>\n U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Julie Rikelman said HUD\u2019s actions \u201ccreated chaos.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe November (notice of funding opportunity) led Continuums and state officials to anticipate alarming increases in homelessness in the coming months,\u201d Rikelman wrote<\/a> in the April 1 ruling.<\/p>\n The upheaval of Continuum of Care grants is part of Trump\u2019s efforts to reverse a longstanding strategy to reduce homelessness. Last summer, Trump issued an executive order<\/a>\u00a0calling for the end of \u201chousing first<\/a>,\u201d which prioritizes placing people in permanent housing with no job or sobriety requirements. It operates on the idea that once someone has stable housing, they can make progress in other areas of their lives.<\/p>\n Studies<\/a> show getting people into permanent housing decreases homelessness by 88%, and allows more people to remain housed than the \u201ctreatment first\u201d model, which requires sobriety in order to obtain permanent housing.<\/p>\n![\"In-line](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/interactive-321838904008.png\")
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