Skip to content
RollCall logo

Podcasts

Trump upends bipartisan consensus on homelessness

CQ On Congress, Episode 170

Henry Palmer, a homeless man living in one of the tents near Union Station in Washington, sweeps his area as he waits for DC city workers to load his belongings into a truck in 2016. The city ordered the small tent city, just blocks from the U.S. Capitol, removed. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call file photo)
Henry Palmer, a homeless man living in one of the tents near Union Station in Washington, sweeps his area as he waits for DC city workers to load his belongings into a truck in 2016. The city ordered the small tent city, just blocks from the U.S. Capitol, removed. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call file photo)
By Micaela Rodríguez and Shawn Zeller
Posted September 20, 2019 at 10:53am

Donald Trump has challenged the idea, pioneered in George W. Bush’s administration, that the best, and most cost-effective way to end homelessness is to offer people living on the streets homes, no strings attached, and to service their needs in a home setting.

A new report from the president’s Council of Economic Advisers says that has neither reduced homelessness, nor lowered costs. Richard Cho, who served in top positions at the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness during the Obama administration and now heads the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness, joins the program this week to discuss how “Housing First” has worked and how it hasn’t.

Show notes:

Recent Stories

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told lawmakers on Tuesday that the fund would not move forward.

Lawsuit to stop ‘anti-weaponization’ fund moot, DOJ tells court

Congressional staffers transport food for Republican senators through the Ohio Clock Corridor during the Senate’s reconciliation vote-a-rama on Thursday.

Working lunch  — Congressional Hits and Misses

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche testifies during a Senate Commerce-Justice-Science Appropriations Subcommittee hearing last month.

Justice Department moving forward with grant office changes

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., seen at a hearing earlier this week, was among Republicans who voted against a motion to proceed to the reauthorization measure.

FISA reauthorization stalls in early-morning Senate vote

The Capitol dome is lit on the evening of April 4, 2025.

Wrap-up: All-nighter caps Senate work and a short House week

Protesters chant outside the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee office where Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner was meeting with Democratic senators in Washington on Tuesday. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)

Photos of the week | May 29-June 4, 2026