Attorney General Andrea Campbell testifies before the Judiciary Committee at the State House on Nov. 25, 2025. Photo by Ella Adams | State House News Service
Massachusetts and 15 other states have stopped changes that the Trump administration attempted to make that would have hurt its and other states’ efforts to protect against housing discrimination.
Attorney General Andrea Campbell announced the coalition of state attorneys general was dropping its lawsuit over changes to the federal Fair Housing Assistance Program (FHAP) funding rules after the Trump administration cancelled the changes.
“Stable housing is an essential need for any family, and this victory ensures that the Trump Administration cannot withhold or place unlawful conditions on funding that helps us protect our residents from housing discrimination,” Campbell said in a statement. “Federal funding should never be used as leverage to undermine our civil rights protections, and I will continue to stand up for residents and preserve the integrity of our fair housing enforcement system.”
The FHAP provides funding to state and local agencies that enforce fair housing laws and is administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Through the assistance program, HUD refers allegations of housing discrimination to state and local partner agencies for investigation and enforcement. These agencies receive HUD funding, which they use to process housing discrimination complaints, train staff, and support community outreach and education.
In September 2025, HUD issued guidance to state agencies, threatening to decertify them from the program and cut off funding unless they stop enforcing protections against housing discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, language, criminal records, and source of income, according to Campbell’s office.
In March 2026, the coalition filed a lawsuit challenging that guidance. Campbell’s office said Wednesday that the Trump administration confirmed to the coalition of state AGs that HUD will no longer seek to enforce the conditions in the future, and that the 2025 guidance is no longer in effect. HUD also confirmed the conditions will not apply to 2026 FHAP funding and that HUD does not plan to include them in future guidance.
If the administration had followed through on its threats and cut the state off from FHAP funding, it would have represented a roughly 5 percent budget hit. Massachusetts was budgeted to receive up to $1.1 million in fees and federal reimbursements for HUD’s fair housing programs during fiscal year 2025.
Massachusetts’ new Office of Fair Housing got $22 million in the fiscal 2026 state budget. The office recently gave out $1 million to local organizations monitoring fair housing complaints.
