LAist · on Judge Carter's Oct. 27 hearing on LAHSA's successor
At a Wednesday hearing, U.S. District Judge David O. Carter scheduled an Oct. 27 hearing he called "our decision-making day on so many matters" on who will administer roughly $240 million a year in federal homeless funding after LAHSA relinquishes the role, and said he wants funds transferred to L.A. County by January if the county is chosen. Carter said "The watchdog wasn't watching, and the money got distributed without accountability." City staff estimated a city homeless services department would take up to two years to build; prosecutors have so far charged six people connected to L.A. homeless service providers.
The LA CoC Board voted Sept. 23 to advance a proposal designating the county as collaborative applicant for HUD funds, subject to approval by the CoC general membership; the county moved roughly $300 million of its annual homelessness funding to its new in-house department in July.
A Ninth Circuit panel on Thursday declined, 2-1, to stay U.S. District Judge David Carter's preliminary injunction blocking HUD from suspending the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, writing that HUD's explanation for suspending LAHSA during the FY2026 application cycle "runs counter to the evidence before the agency." The order requires HUD to send over grant money it already approved and lets LAHSA continue applying in the roughly $239 million regional funding process before an extended October 14 deadline. Judge Ryan Nelson dissented; the dissent has not yet been made public.
The Ninth Circuit hears oral argument on HUD's appeal of the injunction October 19, and Carter's injunction is set to expire October 27.
The Los Angeles Continuum of Care Board voted Wednesday to advance Los Angeles County as the region's 2026 collaborative applicant for the $239 million in federal homelessness funds from which HUD suspended LAHSA; six entities expressed initial interest, two advanced to discussions, and only the county completed the process. Board chair Benjamin Kay said HUD reopened the L.A. CoC's funding notice to September 30 and later extended it to October 14. The CoC general membership must still vote, and the replacement is contingent on LAHSA remaining suspended.
LAHSA has received more than $1 billion in federal funds since 2021, including $220 million in 2024, according to MyNewsLA.
A Ninth Circuit panel in San Francisco heard argument Tuesday on HUD's request for a stay pending appeal of Judge David O. Carter's preliminary injunction, which blocked HUD's suspension of $239 million in funding for the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority. Judge Roopali Desai called HUD's position on the September 30 collaborative-applicant deadline a "gotcha" argument, while Judge Ryan Nelson said Congress provided for direct applications to HUD by service providers. Judge Jacqueline Nguyen said the panel would try to rule as speedily as possible given the September 30 application deadline.
Carter's August injunction warned the suspension would displace more than 11,000 unhoused people.
The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority's commission voted not to apply to keep the four federal roles it has held for three decades, including coordinating the region's roughly $240 million annual HUD funding application, running the point-in-time count, and operating the HUD-mandated services database. The city of Los Angeles and Los Angeles County are both applying to take over the roles; applicants had to declare intent by September 15 and must submit applications by September 25. LAHSA's commission and leadership said in a joint statement that "competing against our founding partners would only fracture regional collaboration during an already complex time."
HUD suspended LAHSA from its federal duties in June, putting $241 million in anticipated funding in limbo; U.S. District Judge David O. Carter paused the suspension August 13 but ordered the L.A. Continuum of Care Board to solicit replacement applications.
MyNewsLA · on the House DOGE Subcommittee hearing on federally funded homelessness services
The House Oversight Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency held its hearing "Fixing Fraud and Failure in Federally Funded Homelessness Services" without Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who declined the summons and called it a "politically-motivated hearing to attack LA." Witnesses included Cicero Institute senior fellow Paul Webster and Discovery Institute senior fellow Jonathan Choe; Chairman Tim Burchett said LAHSA has received over $1 billion in federal funds since 2021, and said in his opening statement that the federal government spends about $8 billion annually to prevent homelessness.
HUD suspended LAHSA from applying for or receiving federal grants in June, affecting $241 million Congress earmarked for the Los Angeles region.
House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
The Oversight Committee's Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency scheduled a hearing, "Fixing Fraud and Failure in Federally Funded Homelessness Services," for September 15 at 2:00 p.m. ET. Subcommittee Chairman Tim Burchett said the panel would present Los Angeles as "a case study of failed policy, fraud, and mismanagement"; the announced witnesses are Paul Webster of the Cicero Institute and Jonathan Choe of the Discovery Institute. Mayor Karen Bass, whom Burchett asked in a September 2 letter to testify and produce LAHSA contracting records, said she is not available to appear, with her office offering to work with the subcommittee on a later date.
HUD suspended LAHSA from federal grant activity on June 11; a federal judge in August issued a preliminary injunction halting the suspension while LAHSA's lawsuit proceeds.
The board of the Los Angeles Continuum of Care published a request for qualifications seeking applicants for the four federally mandated functions that make up LAHSA's core work, including the homelessness database, the annual count, and the annual HUD funding application. County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath said the county would apply to take over those functions, and Mayor Karen Bass said the city "intends to apply for some or all the roles"; Bass stepped down from LAHSA's 10-member board Wednesday. Applications are due September 24, with a special meeting scheduled October 7 and the board's report to Judge David O. Carter due October 13.
In August, Judge Carter ordered HUD to accept LAHSA's 2026 application and distribute $241 million under local priorities while requiring a nationwide competition for the 2027 contract.
New York Post · on Bass declining the Sept. 15 House DOGE subcommittee appearance
Mayor Karen Bass's legal counsel, David Michaelson, wrote the House Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency that the mayor "is not available" for its requested September 15 appearance at a hearing on federal homelessness funding routed through LAHSA, and gave no reason. The letter said her office would produce the requested documents — covering LAHSA's internal controls, use of federal homelessness funds, and communications among the mayor's office, LAHSA, the City Council and the county Board of Supervisors — by September 14. A subcommittee spokeswoman said the panel is proceeding with the hearing without her.
The subcommittee's September 3 letter from Chairman Tim Burchett cited more than $1 billion in federal funds to LAHSA since 2021.
The House Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency, chaired by Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), sent Mayor Karen Bass a letter asking her to testify at a Washington hearing on what it describes as waste, fraud and mismanagement at the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, and requested nearly seven years of documents by September 14. Bass's attorney David Michaelson replied that she would not be available, said unsheltered homelessness in L.A. has fallen 11% since 2022, and said city leaders are preparing a plan to make the city the "sole or primary administrator" of its homeless services. LAHSA's suspension by HUD kept it from filing an August 26 application for $240 million in federal funding on behalf of 140 homeless services organizations.
U.S. District Judge David O. Carter issued a preliminary injunction against HUD's suspension of LAHSA in August; HUD has filed papers indicating it will appeal.
The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority said it plans to modernize its financial operations after a KPMG fiscal review found that delayed payments to contracted service providers stemmed from interconnected operational issues — complicated workflows, manual processes, multiple funding sources, and underused data systems — rather than any single cause. The agency said it has implemented many of the recommendations and is seeking an accounting firm to guide longer-term changes; HUD Secretary Scott Turner posted on X on August 14 that "LAHSA is on notice — not another dime until they show the money actually helps people toward recovery and self-sufficiency."
On August 13, Judge David O. Carter ordered HUD to restore homelessness-program funding for Los Angeles County, ruling the June suspension violated the Administrative Procedure Act.
In an August 18 interview on KVI's Ari Hoffman Show, HUD Secretary Scott Turner said the administration's scrutiny of federal homelessness spending is not limited to Los Angeles, answering "Absolutely" when asked whether HUD was looking at similar action in Seattle and naming Seattle, Boston, and the Virgin Islands. Turner told KVI that federal officials found LAHSA could not account for 2,300 housing spaces and said HUD will judge programs by treatment and self-sufficiency outcomes rather than money distributed.
HUD suspended LAHSA from federal grant activity on June 11; a federal judge blocked the suspension on August 13.
U.S. District Judge David O. Carter issued a preliminary injunction finding HUD acted arbitrarily and capriciously when it suspended the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority from managing federal homelessness funds, and ordered LAHSA restored as master applicant when the funding process is redone — about $240 million on behalf of 140 service providers under the application originally due Aug. 26. Carter set a trial date in February, ordered the Los Angeles Continuum of Care to deliver a review by Oct. 13 of agencies that could replace LAHSA, and ordered HUD to execute stalled contracts with providers that have been working without reimbursement. HUD Secretary Scott Turner posted on X that the administration would "fight this legally."
HUD suspended LAHSA on June 11; a separate Aug. 7 ruling in Rhode Island threw out HUD's 2026 homelessness spending plan, nullifying the Aug. 26 application deadline.
The Rhode Island ruling vacating HUD's FY2026 CoC NOFO eliminated the August 26 application deadline at issue in the LAHSA case, and Judge David O. Carter said he was interested in setting a trial date as early as February 2027. The court is weighing temporary relief over $240 million in federal funding that providers across LA County rely on to serve 11,000 people, according to local homelessness officials.
HUD suspended LAHSA from federal grant activity in June 2026, and Carter granted a stay on July 2 maintaining funding during the litigation.