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BALTIMORE, MD – Attorney General Anthony G. Brown, as part of a coalition of 17 attorneys general, announced that the coalition has secured relief from unlawful conditions the Trump administration attempted to place on Fair Housing Assistance Program (FHAP) funding. Administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the FHAP provides funding to state and local agencies that enforce fair housing laws. In Maryland, the program supports the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights’ (MCCR) work to protect residents from housing discrimination.
“Discrimination has no place in Maryland’s housing market, regardless of a person’s income, marital status, or whom they love,” said Attorney General Brown. “The Trump administration tried to force Maryland to abandon these protections or lose critical funding. My Office fought back against that unlawful attempt—and won.”
In March 2026, the coalition filed a lawsuit challenging unlawful conditions in HUD’s FY 2025 FHAP Funding Guidance, which could have limited state and local agencies’ ability to enforce their fair housing laws, including by restricting reimbursement for certain fair housing complaints and threatening agencies that enforce protections beyond those in federal law. HUD’s guidance purported to authorize HUD to cut MCCR funding because state fair housing protections, including those based on sexual orientation, gender identity, source of income, military status, and marital status, were broader than the federal law. In addition, the guidance required MCCR to comply with vague and ideologically motivated conditions on program funding unrelated to fair housing enforcement and without justification in the law.
Now, the Trump administration has conceded to the coalition’s challenge, agreeing to dismiss the lawsuit after confirming that HUD would not seek to impose, implement, or enforce the challenged conditions in the future and that the FY 2025 Funding Guidance is no longer in effect. A letter from HUD also confirms the conditions will not apply to FY 2026 FHAP funding and that HUD does not plan to include them in future guidance
“This victory sends a powerful message: civil rights cannot be conditioned on politics, ideology, or funding. We are deeply grateful to Attorney General Anthony Brown for his unwavering leadership and willingness to stand with MCCR in defending Maryland’s fair housing laws. We also thank the attorneys general from across the country who stood alongside Maryland in this fight, demonstrating that protecting civil rights requires collective courage and action. Because of their leadership, MCCR can continue doing what Marylanders have entrusted us to do—stand in the gap, confront discrimination, and ensure that every person in our state has the opportunity to live with dignity, fairness, and equal protection under the law,” said Maryland Commission on Civil Rights (MCCR) Executive Director Cleveland L. Horton II.
Joining Attorney General Brown in the lawsuit were the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaiʻi, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington.
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