Trump administration may yank federal funding from Lexington civil rights commission
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- HUD warned Lexington the 1999 Fairness Ordinance may risk federal funding.
- Commission says loss of HUD contract would cripple investigations and budget.
- City reviews funding exposure as HUD shifts homeless rules and grants in 2026.
A Lexington organization that investigates discrimination in housing and employment has been warned by President Donald Trump’s administration it could lose its federal funding because of a city ordinance prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation.
The board of the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Civil Rights Commission, which investigates Fair Housing Act and other discrimination cases, sent a letter to Mayor Linda Gorton and the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council on Wednesday notifying the city and the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council it had been warned by federal officials that the city’s 1999 Fairness Ordinance may be in conflict with Trump’s goals and beliefs.
In a September virtual meeting, commission staff were told by U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD, officials Trump had signed an executive order that removed sexual orientation and gender identity from protected classes. That means cities with local ordinances protecting LGBTQ people from discrimination could be at risk of losing federal funding.
“As a result, federal funding is being utilized as leverage to compel authorities like ours to revise established civil protections that have been in place for many years, which do not align with the Administration’s priorities,” the letter to city officials said.
The letter was signed by Janice Wyatt-Ross, chair of the Lexington-Fayette Human Rights commission.
The group depends on HUD, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and city funds to investigate allegations of discrimination.
“If we lose this contract, it would be financially devastating for our organization, not to mention losing our ability to charge housing providers with discrimination under the Fair Housing Act,” said Ray Sexton, executive director of the commission.
Lexington was one of the first cities in Kentucky to enact the Fairness Ordinance in 1999, which prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in housing, employment and public accommodations.
“The federal government’s attack on the fairness ordinance will also put at risk our vulnerable citizens, low-income residents and those experiencing discrimination,” Wyatt-Ross wrote.
The commission also warned city officials in its Dec. 3 letter, if federal funds are withheld, it may need more money from city coffers to continue to do its job.
“Given these circumstances, it is important to underscore that the funding issues we may soon face could directly increase our financial and operational needs from LFUCG,” the letter said.
The city allocated $451,710 to the human rights commission this fiscal year, which began July 1. Sexton said the amount the group receives to investigate and prosecute Fair Housing Act violations from HUD fluctuates depending on the number of cases. Currently, the commission is waiting on $70,000 in reimbursements from HUD for investigations conducted in 2024, Sexton said. The commission’s overall budget is more than $600,000.
The commission is still processing sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination cases. Since Trump was elected, it is not charging those cases to the HUD contract. Those investigations are funded by the city’s allocation.
But the commission’s entire contract with HUD could be withheld because of the local ordinance prohibiting discrimination against sexual orientation and gender identity, Sexton said.
Sexton said he and other human rights commission directors across the country have been trying to work out what to do with the HUD ultimatum. The Lexington commission has started an ad-hoc board committee to address the situation as the issue appears to be in flux.
HUD threatens governments with loss of homeless funds
There are also concerns Lexington could lose millions in other federal HUD money if the Trump administration acts on its threat to strip federal housing funding from local governments with prohibitions against discrimination against people based on sexual orientation or local governments that don’t crack down on homeless encampments.
In November, HUD announced it was shifting its homeless funding from permanent to transitional housing, causing a backlash and prompting several lawsuits. Gov. Andy Beshear and Kentucky joined 19 other states in a lawsuit challenging the new rules in late November. The federal homeless funding would also be opened to more groups outside of local and state governments, which means cities that have traditionally relied on and received that money may not receive it going forward.
It’s not clear how much federal HUD funding Lexington receives could be at risk.
The new funding formula also favors cities and states that have banned outdoor camping. Kentucky has a state-wide outdoor camping ban.
Susan Straub, a spokeswoman for the city, said Wednesday the city has not seen the letter from the commission or similar communications from HUD over the city’s Fairness Ordinance.
“I have not been able to confirm that we have even received the letter from the Human Rights Commission, or any communication from HUD. We will need time to gather more information before I can comment.”
