OLYMPIA, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – The state has filed two more lawsuits against the Trump administration over changes to federal food and housing assistance.
The first suit was filed against the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on Thursday, Nov. 25.
Washington and 19 other states claim that HUD is illegally changing the rules for its Continuum of Care grant program to limit funding for permanent housing and project renewals.
The states also say the changes will force grant providers to only recognize two genders and punish providers in areas that don’t enforce strict anti-homeless laws.
According to the Gov. Bob Ferguson, the grant supplies Washington with $120 million in annual funding for housing support. The beneficiaries of those funds include one Bellingham resident who found housing and case management services through the Opportunity Council.
The second suit is seeking to block the U.S. Department of Agriculture from declaring several groups of legal immigrants as ineligible for SNAP benefits.
The department’s new guidance was made under President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
The states characterize the change as “abrupt and confusing,” and say it could cut off food assistance for people who are fully eligible under the law.
