Congress violated the Constitution when it gave special treatment to racial or ethnic minorities in a Biden-era internet access grant program, a federal judge has ruled.
The Digital Equity Act was part of President Biden’s 2021 budget climate law and sought to pump billions of dollars into broadband access, mimicking 20th-century programs that brought water or electricity to underserved areas such as rural communities.
But the law, written by the Democrat-controlled Congress, crossed constitutional lines by ordering that money go to racial or ethnic minorities, Judge John Bates, a George W. Bush pick to the court in Washington, ruled Wednesday.
The judge said the Supreme Court made that clear with its 2023 ruling striking down race-based preferences in college admissions, even in cases where there was a dissonance between races.
He said the same logic applies to government grant programs such as broadband.
“Addressing that gap is a laudable goal, but the Supreme Court has admonished that ameliorating general societal inequalities — as opposed to specific instances of past discrimination — ’does not constitute a compelling interest that justifies race-based state action,’” the judge wrote.
The Trump administration halted the Competitive Grant Program last year, citing its belief that the preferences were unconstitutional.
Judge Bates said that with that carve-out now erased, the government can revive the grants.
The decision is a victory for the Trump administration and a warning shot to advocates of diversity, equity and inclusion policies, or DEI, that they face constitutional hurdles that go well beyond the college context.
The 2021 law included $2.75 billion to promote broadband access.
Half of that went to the Capacity Grant Program, which gave money to states to dole out. The other half went to the Competitive Grant Program, which included the racial targeting.
It also ordered grants to be prioritized for older residents, veterans, the disabled, those who lack English skills, those who live in rural areas and those behind bars.
None of those would be disturbed by the new ruling, Judge Bates suggested.
“That means that the Competitive Grant Program can be administered — consistent with the language of the Digital Equity Act — exactly as it was before, minus consideration of racial or ethnic status,” he wrote.
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