Published August 12, 2026 at 4:25 PM ET · Updated August 13, 2026 at 3:23 AM ET
Trump restores funding for faith-based homeless programs
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President Trump restored funding for faith-based homeless programs. The decision returns financial support to religious organizations that provide services to homeless populations.
Patriot Watch first flagged this story 11 hr ago, when Daily Signal reported it. So far this remains a single-source report. The most recent report came 11 hr ago from Daily Signal.
⚖ The Constitutional Angle
Trinity Lutheran held that a state cannot exclude a church from a generally available secular grant solely because of its religious character, and Espinoza held that once a state subsidizes a benefit it cannot bar religious schools on grounds of religious status. The same principle backs restoring funds to faith-based homeless providers: a neutral public benefit cannot exclude them merely for being religious.
Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia v. Comer 582 U.S. 449 (2017)
Vote: 7-2
Missouri's policy of categorically disqualifying churches from an otherwise neutral, secular scrap-tire playground-resurfacing grant program solely because of religious character violates the Free Exercise Clause; denying a generally available public benefit because of religious identity triggers, and here fails, the most exacting scrutiny. Footnote 3 (not joined by Thomas and Gorsuch) said the case involved 'express discrimination based on religious identity with respect to playground resurfacing' and did not address religious uses of funding.
Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue 591 U.S. 464 (2020)
Vote: 5-4
Applying Montana's constitutional no-aid provision to bar religious schools (and families choosing them) from a generally available tax-credit scholarship program discriminates based on religious status, triggers strict scrutiny under Trinity Lutheran, and violates the Free Exercise Clause; a state need not subsidize private education, but once it does, it cannot disqualify schools solely because they are religious.
Precedent facts from the PW Law Library — primary-source verified & independently audited
