- For media inquiries: email Alex Comisar with Actum here.
- Read the decision here
- For more on Powers v. McDonough, click here.
PASADENA, CA, December 24, 2025—The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has handed down what may be the most consequential judicial decision for veterans in our nation’s history. In a sweeping ruling, the court affirmed the core of Judge David Carter’s landmark decision in Powers v. McDonough—ordering the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to move forward urgently with building thousands of units of supportive housing for homeless, disabled veterans on the West Los Angeles VA campus, and to dismantle discriminatory barriers that have kept too many veterans unhoused for years.
The Ninth Circuit upheld what the district court recognized: when disabled veterans are left without supportive housing, they are effectively denied meaningful access to the healthcare and resources they earned through their service. The court affirmed powerful remedies to address that harm—and its ruling paves the way for disabled veterans across the country to demand the housing and care they have long been denied.
The VA is now required to:
- Build 750 units of temporary supportive housing within 18 months
- Build 1,800 units of permanent supportive housing within six years
- End the discriminatory use of income restrictions for affordable housing by ensuring that veterans’ disability payments do not count against their eligibility for supportive housing
“Veteran homelessness is a national disgrace—and one that is entirely solvable,” said Mark Rosenbaum, Senior Special Counsel for Strategic Litigation at Public Counsel. “Today’s ruling affirms what the district court recognized in its landmark decision: supportive housing is essential for disabled veterans to access healthcare, and denying it is unlawful. After years of litigation, the Ninth Circuit has now made clear that the VA must finally live up to its legal and moral responsibility by building enough housing on the West Los Angeles VA Campus to end veteran homelessness in Los Angeles. This decision is about duty, justice, and honor—about using land that was meant to serve veterans to actually serve them.”
The outcome of this case is the result of sustained efforts of disabled, homeless veterans who brought this case forward, advocating not only for themselves but also for fellow veterans experiencing homelessness. By pursuing this litigation, they have played a pivotal role in holding the government accountable to its obligations and advancing meaningful change for unhoused veterans throughout the country.
This ruling brings the end of veteran homelessness in Los Angeles—and across our nation—within reach, not based on promises or proposals, but because the law and basic human decency demand it. The litigation team includes Public Counsel, Robins Kaplan, Sidley Austin, Brown Goldstein & Levy, and Inner City Law Center.
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