A coalition of officials from 20 states and the District of Columbia sued the Trump administration on Tuesday over the government’s plan to overhaul an Obama-era approach to homelessness.

Nineteen state attorneys general and two governors joined the lawsuit, led by New York Democratic Attorney General Letitia James. The lawsuit seeks to stop reforms to the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s “Continuum of Care” program funding, which provides grants to groups that provide housing to homeless people and families.

The Trump administration plans to significantly reduce funds allocated to so-called “Housing First” providers. Under the department’s current homelessness grant structure, nearly all funding goes to providers that offer housing without requiring tenants to stay sober, pursue job training, or participate in other support services.

“HUD has adopted new policies, without any meaningful public input, that reverse the agency’s longstanding support for Housing First policies and fundamentally undermine the goal of providing dependable housing,” the lawsuit states. “A Housing First model provides stable housing to individuals without preconditions like sobriety or minimum income. It is a model that Congress, experts, and, until recently, HUD itself, have agreed improves housing stability and health while reducing costs.”

The lawsuit argues that the Trump administration’s proposed changes to the Continuum of Care program “are unlawful several times over.”

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The Housing First strategy was introduced to federal programs under the administration of former President George W. Bush. Housing First was massively expanded under former President Barack Obama, who promised in 2010 to eliminate homelessness within a decade with major reforms to the federal approach to homelessness.

Critics of Housing First say the strategy has led to a backsliding in efforts to combat homelessness in the United States. Critics argue that the approach falls short by failing to address the root causes of homelessness, such as economic insecurity, mental illness, and drug addiction.

A 2022 report by the Cicero Institute shows that, contrary to the Obama administration’s 2010 aims, homelessness in the United States has significantly worsened in areas that rely on a Housing First approach. The study found that homelessness increased by nearly 25% in areas that exclusively rely on the Housing First model.

Rep. Andy Barr, a Kentucky Republican, is leading an effort in Congress to address the federal government’s reliance on the housing first model. Barr, who is running to replace outgoing Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), has introduced legislation to cut funding for housing providers that use the Housing First approach.

“Housing First policy shuts out providers who offer critical wraparound services that are often essential for helping individuals break the cycle of homelessness,” Barr said. “We need to abandon HUD’s exclusive reliance on Housing First in favor of an all-hands-on-deck approach to equip the best and most effective providers with the federal funds needed to end homelessness.”

The states suing include Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin, along with the commonwealths of Kentucky and Pennsylvania.

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) is calling out New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) for her silence over the latest anti-police move made by far-left Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani, whom Hochul endorsed.

Mamdani recently appointed Alex Vitale to his community safety committee. Vitale, a sociology professor, is the author of “The End of Policing” and has espoused radical anti-police views, such as suggesting all officers and their unions are embedded with “deep racism” and calling for the defunding and abolition of police.

“Kathy Hochul must condemn Zohran Mamdani’s appointment of Alex Vitale to his transition advisory committee,” Stefanik told The Daily Wire.

“Vitale is a radical police abolitionist who will destroy New York if he gets his way,” she added.

Stefanik announced her bid for New York’s next gubernatorial election in November, just days after Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist, won the election as New York City’s next mayor with Hochul’s endorsement.

When Hochul endorsed Mamdani, she claimed that Mamdani told her he would maintain all police resources to ensure the safety of New Yorkers was a top priority. Vitale’s appointment seems to fly in the face of that commitment, though Hochul has so far stayed mum.

Back in 2020, Vitale strongly backed the “defund the police” movement and criticized police unions and their members for their supposed “deep racism.”

“They become, in many cities, the locus, the institutional hub, for a whole set of right-wing ‘thin blue line’ politics that believe that policing is not only effective but it’s the most desirable way to solve our problems,” Vitale said. “And embedded in this is a deep racism that says that certain populations can only be managed through constant threats and coercion.”

The professor added that this is the “logic of slavery” and “colonialism,” and activists must “take concrete steps to dismantle their political power.”

As highlighted by The Daily Wire, Vitale’s book, “The End of Policing,” imagines a world in which “modern policing” is broadly replaced by a combination of decriminalization and community empowerment. He argues that policing is designed to reinforce inequality, and that giving police officers diversity training is not enough to bridge the gap.

Vitale has also called for the decriminalization of offenses such as prostitution and drug use, and advocates for private corporations or government programs that would provide permanent housing for the homeless population.

Mamdani himself has espoused radical anti-police views, like calling NYPD officers “racist, anti-queer & a major threat to public safety” and calling for the “wicked & corrupt” department to be defunded and dismantled.

In addition to his controversial Vitale appointment, Mamdani has picked a black nationalist named Lumumba Bandele to serve on a Community Organizing committee. As noted by the New York Post, Bandele previously aligned with Black Liberation Army members convicted of killing police officers in the tristate area.

“Kathy Hochul’s endorsed Mayor-elect, Zohran Mamdani, just picked a man who supports the killers of cops in New York and New Jersey to serve on his transition team,” Stefanik said.

“Mamdani’s vision for New York is getting very clear and it’s starting to look like a nightmare,” the Republican added. “Kathy Hochul must immediately call on Mamdani to fire Lumumba Bandele from his transition team.”

Related: Mamdani Names ‘End Of Policing’ Author Who Called Cops ‘Violence Workers’ To Transition Team