'So disrespectful': This Trump proposal could throw 1.4 million people out of their homes

17 July

Donald Trump at his Bedminster, New Jersey golf course on July 28, 2022 (Image: Shutterstock)

A proposal from the Trump administration would impose a strict two‑year limit on Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) flagship rental assistance programs, including Section 8 vouchers and public housing. If enacted, the change could leave 1.4 million of the nation’s lowest-income households without housing support, the Associated Press reported Thursday.

A New York University analysis of HUD data concludes that the two-year cap would force 1.4 million households — predominantly working families with children—out of subsidized housing, leading to widespread evictions and upheaval, per the report.

The report spotlighted Havalah Hopkins, a 23-year-old working mother of an autistic son, who fears such a limit would render them homeless, as neither wages nor local affordable housing currently offer a viable safety net.

“A two‑year time limit is ridiculous,” she told AP. “It’s so disrespectful. I think it’s dehumanizing—the whole system.”

She further said, “It’s a cycle of feeling defeated and depleted, no matter how much energy and effort and tenacity you have towards surviving."

Since hearing about Trump’s proposal, Hopkins says she's been consumed by the fear of loading her life into a van with her son, unraveling the sense of safety she’s worked so hard to build.

The report noted that both Democrats and Republicans have acknowledged that imposing time limits could reduce HUD's notoriously long waitlists.

Some hard‑liners believe that the looming threat of losing housing will prompt recipients to become self‑sufficient; others argue that limits — if paired with support services and job-training incentives — could encourage tenants to make positive life changes.

Meanwhile, it remains uncertain whether Congress will support Trump’s HUD agenda.

This week, the House appropriations committee is evaluating HUD’s fiscal year 2026 budget — but so far, no time-limit provisions are included, per AP.

HUD spokesperson Kasey Lovett said in a statement to AP that the Senate has not yet released its budget blueprint for the agency and emphasized the administration’s intent to press forward with implementing time limits.

“HUD will continue to engage with colleagues on the hill to ensure a seamless transition and enforcement of any new time limit,” she said.

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