The HUD proposal, published April 28, 2026, implements President Trump's executive order on "Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government." The specific language of HUD's proposed rule and the administration's timeline for finalizing it remain unclear.
This comment letter marks the second major legal challenge from state attorneys general to the Trump administration's housing discrimination rollback. In March 2026, Bonta and 16 other states sued HUD over September 2025 guidance that threatened to decertify state fair housing agencies failing to enforce only the federal minimum standard—effectively pressuring states to abandon protections beyond what federal law explicitly requires. The June filing narrows the focus to explicit removal of gender identity language rather than the funding and disparate impact issues central to the earlier lawsuit. Attorneys should monitor whether HUD finalizes the proposed rule and track parallel litigation in federal court, as the outcome will determine whether states can maintain their own housing discrimination protections or face federal pressure to align with the narrower federal standard.