‘No more woke handouts based on race,’ the president stated on social media, announcing the move.
President Donald Trump said on May 8 that he would end the Digital Equity Act as part of his administration’s cost-cutting efforts, noting that the funding provided under the Biden-era law was illegal.
Trump said he discussed with Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, and they agreed that the law, which former President Joe Biden signed in 2021 to close the digital gaps by funding projects aimed at enhancing broadband access and increasing digital literacy, was unconstitutional.
In his Truth Social post, Trump stated that the Digital Equity Act had been used to distribute “handouts based on race,” though he did not provide details to support the claim.
“The Digital Equity Program is a racist and illegal $2.5 billion dollar giveaway,” he stated. “I am ending this immediately, and saving Taxpayers billions of dollars!”
The Digital Equity Act provided $2.75 billion in funding to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to establish three grant programs that help to expand high-speed internet service access to minority groups, people with disabilities, and communities in rural areas.
These grant programs include a state digital equity planning grant, digital equity capacity grant, and digital equity competitive grant, according to the NTIA’s website.
It remains unclear whether the Department of Commerce has taken any steps following Trump’s decision. The department did not respond to a request for comment by publication time.
The move to eliminate the law has drawn criticism from digital equity advocates. Angela Siefer, executive director of the National Digital Inclusion Alliance, has called on congressional leaders to reject Trump’s decision.
“This decision has no policy rationale and makes no economic sense. Cutting this funding will deepen the divide and force greater costs down the road,” Siefer said in a statement.
Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), who authored the Digital Equity Act in 2019, denounced Trump’s move, saying that the funding provided under the Digital Equity Act was already approved by Congress.
