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Fed. official sues Trump administration over firing attempt
A lawyer for Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook has urged a U.S. judge to let Cook keep her job while she fights President Trump’s attempt to fire her. President Trump has sought to fire Cook over allegations that she committed mortgage fraud when she purchased a home and condo in 2021. This comes as former CDC director Susan Monarez is fighting her dismissal by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Junior. Monarez’s lawyers said she refused "to rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives and fire dedicated health experts." She is fighting her dismissal, saying the decision must come directly from Trump, who nominated her in March. The president has not said anything publicly about the matter. LiveNOW from FOX's Stephanie Coueignoux spoke with attorney John Day about both cases.
A long-running federal program that has helped finance affordable housing across the country could be eliminated under President Donald Trump’s latest budget proposal.
The HOME Investment Partnerships Program, started in the 1990s, has provided more than $38 billion in grants over three decades to help build, repair and preserve affordable housing. An Associated Press analysis found the program has supported more than 1.3 million homes, with more than 540,000 located in rural or largely rural districts.
Housing experts warn that ending the program would hit communities in Appalachia and other rural regions especially hard, where housing construction is limited and private investment is scarce.
Why you should care:
The HOME program helps nonprofits and local housing agencies cover costs that would otherwise make construction projects financially impossible. By bridging the gap between what families can afford and what it costs to build, the program has allowed smaller communities to keep housing affordable for teachers, first responders and working families.
The Associated Press found that 84% of the rural homes funded through HOME were in congressional districts that voted for Trump in 2024.
U.S. President Donald Trump, joined by Republican lawmakers, signs the One, Big Beautiful Bill Act into law during an Independence Day military family picnic on the South Lawn of the White House on July 04, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
Residents like Heather Colley in Tennessee and Tiffany Mullins in Kentucky told the AP the program made homeownership possible for the first time, despite rising construction costs and stagnant wages.
What's next:
Trump’s budget plan, backed by House Republicans, removes funding for HOME. GOP negotiators instead want to redirect money from a separate pandemic-era housing fund.
Senate Republicans, however, have included HOME in their version of the budget, leaving its future uncertain. Negotiators could reach a compromise to scale back but not completely cut the program, or extend current funding levels.
A spokesperson for the Department of Housing and Urban Development told the AP that HOME is less efficient than other housing initiatives, while Trump’s White House has emphasized his push to reduce red tape in housing.
The backstory:
Launched under President George H.W. Bush, the HOME program has endured decades of budget fights. It is one of the few federal initiatives aimed at both urban and rural affordable housing, often filling financing gaps that other programs cannot.
When Congress reduced HOME funding in 2015, housing experts told the AP that it took nearly 10 years for communities to feel the shortage in affordable supply. Critics of the proposed cuts say the same outcome could happen again, only on a larger scale.
The Source: This report is based on original reporting from the Associated Press, with additional information from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and nonprofit housing agencies.