Denver — Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet joined Senators Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), and 28 Senate colleagues to demand the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) rescind a series of proposed changes that would fundamentally undermine implementation of the Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP), which funds nonprofit organizations on the front lines of combating housing discrimination and enforcing fair housing protections nationwide.
In their letter to HUD Secretary Scott Turner, the senators warned that HUD’s Fiscal Year 2025 and Fiscal Year 2026 funding notices threaten to strip funding from organizations that handle more than 74 percent of housing discrimination complaints in the country. The senators blasted the new funding notices for bypassing the intent of Congress and fundamentally reshaping the program. The changes lock out experienced fair housing organizations, prioritize first-time applicants over groups with proven track records, and abandon organizations that have protected Americans from discrimination for decades.
“Dedicated local fair housing organizations, functioning on small budgets, provide an indispensable service for so many Americans: disabled veterans who require reasonable accommodations in housing, seniors and people with disabilities who need accessible housing, families with children turned away illegally from renting a home, women who are experiencing sexual harassment from landlords, survivors of domestic violence who have been improperly evicted, and victims of racial and other forms of unlawful discrimination,” wrote the senators.
The senators noted that this latest move is part of a pattern: the Trump administration has repeatedly tried to dismantle fair housing protections, including failed attempts to terminate FHIP grants and proposing to eliminate the program’s funding altogether, despite strong bipartisan support in Congress.
The senators called on Secretary Turner to immediately rescind and reissue the FY25 and FY26 FHIP funding notices in line with federal law and longstanding program standards. They also demanded HUD turn over information by August 10, 2026 on how the new funding process was developed and implemented, including internal analyses, communications with potential recipients, and any future changes planned for fair housing policy.
In addition to Bennet, Booker, Warnock, and Van Hollen, U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Angela D. Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.), Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Christopher A. Coons (D-Del.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), Mark R. Warner (D-Va.), Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.), Jeffrey A. Merkley (D-Ore.), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), and Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) signed the letter.
In December 2025, Bennet introduced the More Homes on the Market Act, a bill to make housing more available and affordable by incentivizing homeowners to sell their homes and increasing market supply. In November 2025, Bennet urged Secretary Turner to immediately halt reported plans to make drastic changes to the Continuum of Care program, which could result in nearly 200,000 Americans being forced out of their housing and back into homelessness. In August 2025, Bennet demanded answers from Secretary Turner on cuts to agency staff and the lease termination of the HUD Denver Regional Office.
The text of the letter is available HERE and below.
Dear Secretary Turner:
We write to express deep concerns regarding recent actions by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO) that would undermine the implementation of the Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP). On July 2, 2026, HUD proposed a series of sweeping changes that if fully implemented, could shutter the doors of local fair housing organizations that handle more than 74 percent of the housing discrimination complaints across the country.
On July 2, 2026, HUD released four notices of funding opportunities (NOFOs) for FY 25 and FY 26 FHIP funding. For FY 25, HUD makes no funding available for the Education and Outreach Initiative (EOI) and Private Enforcement Initiatives (PEI), two programs that have been central to FHIP NOFOs for many years, which would essentially block FY 25 money from going to local fair housing organizations. For FY 26, while HUD provides funding for the EOI and PEI components of FHIP in line with the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026, HUD has made any organization that received FY 23 or FY 24 PEI awards ineligible for FY 26 PEI funds. Further, all four NOFOs give considerable preference to new, first time FHIP applicants, further penalizing existing grantees who have an expertise in doing this work in a cost-effective manner in local communities. These significant changes run counter to the intent of Congress that consistently appropriates funds for these essential programs and services in a bipartisan manner.
This latest effort is on the heels of the Trump Administration’s failed attempts last year to dismantle fair housing protections. HUD was sued regarding the attempted termination of FHIP grants in 2025, and in a strong rebuke of HUD’s position, a federal judge ordered the reinstatement of terminated FHIP awards. Then when HUD refused to use FY 24 FHIP funding to award new grants and administer existing multi-year awards, a federal judge once again stepped in and noted that HUD’s argument that it could not be compelled to award the funds “is not the law.” The Trump administration has also targeted local fair housing groups through the budget process, requesting no funding for the FHIP program for FY 26. However, the FHIP program was funded by Congress for FY 26 with strong bipartisan support. The Trump administration again requested no funding for the FHIP program for FY 27.
Meanwhile, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) continues to create delays in the apportionment process. OMB did not apportion the FY 25 FHIP funding until November 20, 2025. No funds were apportioned for the FY 26 Fair Housing Activities account, which includes FHIP, at the start of FY 26 as required by OMB’s own guidance and standard practice, and it was not until July 28, 2026 that OMB finally issued any apportionments for FY 26 Fair Housing Activities. OMB’s own guidance requires agencies to submit apportionments within 10 days of enactment, and most other HUD accounts have received apportionments since the enactment of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026 over six months ago. Time and time again, federal courts and bipartisan coalitions in Congress have rejected the Trump Administration’s efforts to undermine fair housing protections for American families. Dedicated local fair housing organizations, functioning on small budgets, provide an indispensable service for so many Americans: disabled veterans who require reasonable accommodations in housing, seniors and people with disabilities who need accessible housing, families with children turned away illegally from renting a home, women who are experiencing sexual harassment from landlords, survivors of domestic violence who have been improperly evicted, and victims of racial and other forms of unlawful discrimination.
Rather than protecting the rights of all of these people and more, HUD is redirecting $25 million into one large award to target state and local government agencies that have programs to “prevent[] displacement and/or increase[e] housing choice” by developing complaints against them and referring them to HUD, and heavily preferencing this award to universities with ABA approved law schools. The funding notice also suggests the recipient should use these funds appropriated for local fair housing enforcement to support “property owners” and “landlords.” Put simply, it appears that HUD is attempting to convert a longstanding program that efficiently and effectively makes fair housing real in so many communities into a fund to reward the administration’s political allies and further its political objectives.
The day after these funding notices were issued, HUD Assistant Secretary Craig Trainor sent an internal email that raised further significant questions and concerns. The email described an “organizational transformation” related to HUD’s administration of fair housing laws and that “[m]ore will be revealed in due course.” Mr. Trainor’s email referenced the words of President Trump in calling this organizational transformation of fair housing part of a “noble tradition” of “Anglo-Saxons” and the “first Americans.” The Fair Housing Act protects all Americans, regardless of their race or national origin, and Mr. Trainor’s remarks reasonably call into question his commitment to this fundamental aspect of his statutory position created by the Fair Housing Act.
Given the devastating effect on local communities that HUD’s unprecedented repurposing of FHIP grants will have, we ask that you rescind HUD’s FY 25 and FY 26 FHIP NOFOs immediately and re-issue notices consistent with the historical standards and laws governing the program, ensuring that private, nonprofit fair housing organizations are eligible to compete for FY 25 and FY 26 funding. Also, given the effects that HUD’s funding notices and other actions are expected to have on the agency’s mission and operations, we ask that you provide the following information by August 17, 2026:
- A list of all meetings, emails, phone calls, or other contacts by Mr. Trainor and any other HUD officials with law schools, nonprofits, media agencies, or other groups who may be intended recipients under HUD’s FHIP funding notices;
- A copy of all internal legal or other analysis performed by HUD on the compliance of its FHIP funding notices with the law or on the fundamental restructuring of the FHIP funding notices compared to prior fiscal years, including the FY 24 FHIP funding notices issued under the Trump administration on July 29, 2025;
- A list of all HUD officials who participated in drafting or approving its FHIP funding notices;
- Details on HUD’s request to OMB to apportion the FY 25 and FY 26 Fair Housing Activities funding, including for FHIP, with dates on when such requests were submitted to OMB;
- All draft cooperative agreements, implementation guidance, instructions to awardees, internal guidance, or other documents that HUD has prepared to date to implement the FHIP funding notices;
- A summary of the intended changes to fair housing programs and requirements that HUD will be pursuing through rules identified on its unified agenda, including interim final and direct to final rules;
- A copy of all internal legal or other analysis performed by HUD supporting its decision to rescind fair housing guidance documents; and
- A list of any internal and public-facing guidance documents related to fair housing and civil rights requirements that HUD intends to issue through the end of 2026. We appreciate your prompt attention to this urgent matter and look forward to your timely response.
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