Digital Equity Act Trump kills broadband grants, calls digital equity program “racist and illegal” Trump move also takes grants away from veterans and people with disabilities. Jon Brodkin – May 9, 2025 1:33 pm | 55 Credit: Getty Images | Andrey Denisyuk Credit: Getty Images | Andrey Denisyuk Story text Size Small Standard Large Width * Standard Wide Links Standard Orange * Subscribers only   Learn more President Donald Trump said he is killing a broadband grant program that was authorized by Congress, claiming that the Digital Equity Act of 2021 is 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. 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!" Trump wrote in a Truth Social post yesterday. The Digital Equity Act provided $2.75 billion for three grant programs. As a National Telecommunications and Information Administration webpage says, the grants "aim to ensure that all people and communities have the skills, technology, and capacity needed to reap the full benefits of our digital economy." The digital equity law, approved as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, allows for grants benefitting a wide range of Americans who lack reliable and affordable Internet access. The law covers low-income households, people who are at least 60 years old, people incarcerated in state or local prisons and jails, veterans, people with disabilities, people with language barriers, people who live in rural areas, and people who are members of a racial or ethnic minority group. "President Trump's move to end the Digital Equity Act is blatantly unconstitutional," consumer advocacy group Public Knowledge said. While Trump is "labeling efforts to address racial inequity as discriminatory themselves," his action "will also severely impact his voter base of white Americans who live in rural areas in red states, including veterans and the elderly," the group said. Some states already received funding last year. If Trump cancels grants that haven't yet been distributed, it will likely result in lawsuits against the administration. The law allows funding to be used in a variety of ways, including "to make available equipment, instrumentation, networking capability, hardware and software, or digital network technology for broadband services to covered populations at low or no cost," and "to construct, upgrade, expend, or operate new or existing public access computing centers for covered populations through community anchor institutions." It can also cover training programs for using technology and workforce development programs. Law author: “Absolutely insane” Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.), author of the Digital Equity Act, said the law is "about making sure seniors can get online and equipping every student in every classroom with the tools they need to succeed, whether that's a hotspot to take home or a laptop." Murray said the law gives "maximal flexibility to cities, states, and Tribes so every local community can decide for themselves how they invest Digital Equity dollars." Murray called it "absolutely insane" that the grants "will be illegally blocked because the President doesn't like the word equity." "Republicans will have to explain to their constituents why this Republican administration doesn't believe their local library should get funding to help seniors navigate telehealth options or why middle schoolers in rural districts shouldn't get laptops," Murray said. The National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA), which was helping its members access the federal funding, slammed Trump for claiming that the program is unconstitutional. "Is it unconstitutional for a grandmother to learn how to protect herself from online scams?" asked NDIA Executive Director Angela Siefer. "Is it unconstitutional for a veteran to access a telehealth appointment? Is it unconstitutional for a child to finish homework at home? Is it unconstitutional for a job-seeker to apply for work online?" Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has claimed the Biden administration's implementation of the Digital Equity Act is "impermissible race-based discrimination under the equal protection component of the Fifth Amendment's Due Process Clause." The grant program is one of several targeted by Republicans since Trump's inauguration. The Senate yesterday approved a Cruz proposal to kill a different program that would distribute Wi-Fi hotspots to schoolchildren. A House version of the Cruz measure is still pending. The biggest federal broadband program of all is a $42.45 billion deployment fund that will distribute money to ISPs. The Trump administration isn't trying to kill that program but is changing the rules and delaying the distribution of grants. While the Biden administration set it up so that ISPs building fiber networks would have the best chance to obtain grants, the Trump administration is adopting a "tech-neutral" approach that will benefit fixed wireless providers and satellite operators such as Starlink. Jon Brodkin Senior IT Reporter Jon Brodkin Senior IT Reporter Jon is a Senior IT Reporter for Ars Technica. He covers the telecom industry, Federal Communications Commission rulemakings, broadband consumer affairs, court cases, and government regulation of the tech industry. 55 Comments