The Trump administration's cancellation of a federal grant making up a big chunk of a local fair housing organization's budget is on hold for now.
The $425,000-a-year U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development grant to Greater Cincinnati's Housing Opportunities Made Equal was one of 78 abruptly canceled in February.
Four other fair housing organizations in Cleveland, San Antonio, Idaho and Massachusetts that also received the cuts filed a lawsuit challenging them.
A federal judge with the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts Wednesday put a two-week hold on the grant cancellations, which affected more than 60 organizations like HOME across the country.
Wednesday's brief ruling granting a temporary restraining order cites a decision by the U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals related to grant cuts by the U.S. Department of Education. That decision cited a lack of explanation by the Trump administration as to why the grants were being cut.
"Because the court sees no meaningful way to distinguish this case from California v. U.S. Department of Education, and because the court’s exercise of discretion is constrained by the rulings of the First Circuit, the court adopts the First Circuit’s reasoning in full here," the decision reads.
The judge's ruling orders HUD to restore the grants immediately. It also prohibits HUD from finding other ways to cut the funding unless explicitly authorized by Congress.
Fair housing groups say the cuts could be devastating.
"The consequences of the lawless termination decision are dire," attorneys for the fair housing groups who filed the lawsuit wrote in a news release. "The Massachusetts Fair Housing Center has been forced to turn away clients, including a domestic violence survivor facing displacement from her temporary shelter and someone denied housing based on disability."
The Trump administration has said cuts to many federal programs are imperative to improve government efficiency and reduce spending.
The HUD grant eliminations are part of ongoing cuts at the federal department responsible for housing aid and the enforcement of the 1968 Fair Housing Act, which banned racial and other discrimination in housing.
Trump-appointed Housing Secretary Scott Turner has indicated he's starting a DOGE-inspired task force within HUD to review every dollar the department spends. NPR reported last month that the effort could aim to reduce HUD's staff by half. And the Associated Press reported last month that leaked documents suggest HUD's Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity could see staff reduced by as much as 72%.
HOME has said it uses the funds HUD cut to provide one-on-one help for renters who think they've experienced housing discrimination and to research discrimination against mortgage borrowers. The funds make up about a third of the organization's budget.
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