Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark announced on Mar. 16 that she has joined a coalition of 16 attorneys general in filing a lawsuit against the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The suit challenges recent actions by HUD, which include threats to impose new conditions on federal funding and withhold support from state and local fair housing agencies such as Vermont’s Human Rights Commission.
The attorneys general argue that these measures could weaken the country’s fair housing enforcement system and undermine states’ abilities to ensure equal access to housing. They warn that if these actions go unchallenged, discrimination in housing is likely to increase.
The lawsuit alleges that HUD’s actions violate both the Spending Clause of the U.S. Constitution and the federal Administrative Procedure Act, which governs how agencies make rule changes. “It is disappointing that the Trump Administration has backed away from enforcing fair housing laws, especially given the housing crisis we are experiencing,” said Attorney General Clark. “Critically, the Administration’s actions violate federal law and state sovereignty. Vermont has its own antidiscrimination laws and it has the right to enforce those laws. With today’s lawsuit, I am standing up for our federalist system and Vermont’s values by challenging the Administration’s illegal actions.”
The Fair Housing Act was enacted sixty years ago to address widespread discrimination in housing. Since then, Congress created partnerships between HUD and state or local agencies through programs like the Fair Housing Assistance Program (FHAP), which allows local entities to enforce civil rights laws alongside their own regulations.
In September 2025, HUD issued guidance threatening decertification for agencies such as Vermont’s Human Rights Commission unless they stopped enforcing protections related to sexual orientation, gender identity, language access, criminal records, or source of income—protections established under many state laws including Vermont’s. The guidance also restricted pursuing claims involving neutral policies with discriminatory effects.
Clark joins attorneys general from Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Washington in this legal action.
