Elizabeth Warren Leads 22 Democrats Warning New HUD Rule Could Leave LGBTQ+ People Without Safe Shelter

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is leading a group of 22 Senate Democrats in urging the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to withdraw a proposed rule they say would strip federal housing protections for LGBTQ+ people and allow shelter operators to scrutinize the sex of people seeking shelter.

In a letter sent to HUD Secretary Scott Turner and obtained by The Advocate, Warren—who serves as the top Democrat on the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs—joined Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and 20 other senators in calling on HUD to retract its draft “Equal Access to Housing in HUD Programs Revisions.” Signers include Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), the first openly lesbian member of the Senate, and prominent Democrats such as Cory Booker, Raphael Warnock, Tim Kaine, Bernie Sanders, Adam Schiff, and Chris Van Hollen.

“The Trump Administration would rather you didn’t notice that it’s enabling housing discrimination against the LGBTQ community by quietly removing sexual orientation and gender identity from its list of protected characteristics,” Warren said in a statement to The Advocate. “LGBTQ Americans, who are disproportionately at risk of homelessness, deserve a safe place to call home.”

What the Proposed Rule Would Change

Published in the Federal Register on April 28, the draft rule would revise HUD’s Equal Access regulations by removing references to “gender” and “gender identity” or replacing them with the term “sex,” as defined by President Trump’s January 20, 2025 executive order. That executive order instructs federal agencies to recognize only two sexes—male and female—and directed HUD to begin rulemaking to rescind the 2016 Equal Access standard. The public comment period for HUD’s draft closes on June 29.

Why Senators Say the Rule Is Dangerous

The senators argue the proposal goes further than the executive order by also striking “sexual orientation” across HUD regulations. They warn this change would affect enforcement and programs across HUD, including:

• Fair housing enforcement and the Housing Choice Voucher Program
• Programs serving people experiencing homelessness and survivors of domestic violence
• Community development programs, Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS, and Indian and Native Hawaiian housing programs

Practically, the senators say the rule would allow federally funded shelters to base placement on sex assigned at birth rather than gender identity. Grant recipients and shelter operators could require “assurances and evidence” of sex from applicants—potentially inviting invasive questioning or demands for ID or medical records. For people fleeing violence or arriving in crisis, those barriers could mean the difference between receiving a bed and being sent back into danger.

Legal Context

The senators cite the Supreme Court’s 2020 ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County, which found that discrimination “because of sex” under Title VII includes discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Under the Biden administration HUD interpreted the Fair Housing Act’s sex-discrimination protections to cover sexual orientation and gender identity; the current proposal reflects the Trump administration’s effort to reverse that interpretation.

Broader Concerns

The letter also warns the rule could preempt state and local laws that provide broader protections and that HUD might use penalties, including withholding federal funds, to enforce the new standards. HUD’s own draft materials acknowledge the rule could cause people to be denied access to preferred single-sex shelters or accommodations and require them to find “other shelter options”—options that may not exist in many communities. The National Alliance to End Homelessness found that 61% of states and territories already lack enough shelter beds to meet demand.

Senators wrote: “The FHAct does not mandate HUD to choose between protecting one protected group over another, nor are women and LGBTQ+ individuals mutually exclusive or conflicting groups. HUD is required by law to provide fair and equal housing protections to all Americans.”

Next Steps

Public comments on the rule close June 29. HUD defended the draft as an effort to protect women’s shelters and align agency policy with the president’s executive order; Secretary Turner said the department sought to bring "biological truth and sanity back" to HUD policies. Warren and the coalition of senators have asked HUD to withdraw the proposal, warning it would undermine fair housing and put vulnerable people at risk.

HUD did not respond to The Advocate’s request for comment.

This article originally appeared on Advocate: "Elizabeth Warren warns new Trump federal housing rule could put LGBTQ+ people on the street."