Judicially Affirmed🆓🤵🏾‍♂️

Veterans in L.A. won a major legal victory Thursday when a judge rejected all of the federal government’s efforts to toss out a lawsuit that seeks to require Veterans Affairs officials to house veterans with disabilities. The ruling will not immediately affect housing availability for L.A. veterans. But it clears a major legal hurdle for the judge to declare that the VA is required to house veterans in L.A. who need housing in order to access treatment for their disabilities. That federal judge, David O. Carter, says he will now be moving the case forward quickly. His new ruling significantly ramps up pressure on the federal government to house veterans in L.A., whether through a settlement deal, a possible injunction or trial next year. “We’re the homeless [veterans] capital of the world right now,” Carter said near the conclusion of a hearing in downtown L.A. where he finalized his order. “So I don’t want to hear excuses about [how] we can’t afford it. We can’t afford what’s happening right now.” His 41-page ruling found merit with veterans’ legal arguments against the VA, and sets the case in motion for a trial in the middle of next year. Carter pressed the government to try to work collaboratively with plaintiff’s attorneys to reach a settlement before then — and to possibly get Congress involved. Toward the end of the hearing, Carter displayed a screenshot of an LAist article photo of VA Secretary Denis McDonough at the agency’s West LA campus. As he did so, the judge pressed federal officials to get McDonough involved with other Biden administration leaders to clear through barriers that prevent veterans from being housed. “Does he have the attention of this administration?” Carter asked about McDonough. “Can he get HUD together in the same room as the EPA to stop this nonsense?” he added, referring to the federal housing and environmental agencies. If all sides of the lawsuit work together, the judge said, “we can achieve a lot more” than if both sides fight each other in court.