President Donald Trump lashed out on Thursday against legislation signed by former President Joe Biden aimed at increasing access to high-speed internet, arguing that it was “racist” and “unconstitutional.”
“I have spoken with my wonderful Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick, and we agree that the Biden/Harris so-called ‘Digital Equity Act’ is totally UNCONSTITUTIONAL,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Thursday afternoon.
It was a statement that made Trump’s wish to dismantle the work of his predecessor clear. The legislation was part of the $1 trillion infrastructure bill Biden signed early in his term in office. It aims to improve access to high-speed internet in communities with limited access.
The legislation was enacted to help a number of groups, such as veterans, older people, the disabled, and rural communities. But Trump took aim at the law for also trying to boost internet access for ethnic and racial minorities.
“No more woke handouts based on race! The Digital Equity Program is a RACIST and ILLEGAL $2.5 BILLION DOLLAR giveaway. I am ending this IMMEDIATELY, and saving Taxpayers BILLIONS OF DOLLARS!” he added on Truth Social.
However, the legislation barely cites race, The New York Times noted. It only says that the program could cover racial minorities while also including a nondiscrimination clause which states that people cannot be excluded from the program “on the basis of actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, or disability.” Such language was borrowed from the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
The Digital Equity Act delivers $60 million worth of grants to states and territories to aid them in creating plans to make internet access more equal. It also provides for $2.5 billion in grants to enact those plans. Some of those funds have already been approved and sent on to a number of states, including some conservative, rural states, such as Indiana, Alabama, Arkansas, Iowa, and Kansas. Hundreds of millions in further funding were approved during the final weeks of the Biden administration, but have yet to be disbursed, according to The New York Times.
Congressional appropriations commandeered the funds, and the initiative is overseen by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the Department of Commerce.
However, any cancellation of the funding would likely face pushback in the courts. The Trump administration has experienced some success in temporarily blocking challenges to its suspension of grants connected to programs focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion.
However, in late March, a federal appeals court left in place a ruling by a lower court that stopped the Office of Management and Budget from putting in place a freeze on federal funding to states. The court noted that the freeze posed a clear risk to states that depend on the financing.
