Chris Wright, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, has been at the center of significant policy changes affecting millions of Americans facing housing instability. The Trump administration, under Wright's leadership at HUD, has announced sweeping reforms to federal housing programs that are reshaping how communities address homelessness across the nation.

The most consequential recent development involves a dramatic shift away from permanent supportive housing, a decades-long bipartisan approach that provided affordable housing without preconditions and included wraparound services like caseworkers and mental health care. Previously, approximately ninety percent of federal HUD dollars reaching local communities went toward permanent supportive housing. Under the new HUD rules overseen by Wright's department, only thirty percent of federal HUD dollars can now be spent on these programs.

This funding restructuring has triggered legal action from multiple states. Minnesota joined twenty other states in filing a lawsuit against HUD, alleging the department illegally proceeded with these rule changes without receiving congressional authorization. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison stated that if the Trump administration's attempts to cut this funding succeed, tens of thousands of formerly homeless people will end up getting evicted from their homes through no fault of their own. The state alone stands to lose forty-eight million dollars in federal HUD funding.

Beyond the funding cuts, the new HUD framework under Wright's leadership introduces additional requirements. Communities must now follow an executive order calling for strict camping bans nationwide and encourages governments to commit homeless people with mental illness to institutions long-term against their will. The administration has also shifted the majority of HUD funding to a competitive process, giving the federal government increased control over how local communities approach homelessness.

Housing advocates have expressed deep concern about the timeline and feasibility of these changes. Officials in Hennepin County stated that developing twelve million dollars worth of new street outreach and transitional housing in less than two months is essentially impossible. The new funding mechanism also allows the administration to tie housing support to local policies around gender identity, immigration, and encampments, as well as whether projects include work and drug treatment mandates.

A recent federal report showed homelessness nationwide had increased eighteen percent over the previous year, with rising housing costs, expired pandemic-era rental assistance, and natural disasters cited as contributing factors. HUD's response argues that the reforms will not increase homelessness, though the department provided no supporting evidence for this claim.

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