The Supreme Court’s recent decisions on affirmative action are causing ripples across the country. In June 2023, the Court struck down affirmative action in college admissions, igniting debates everywhere. No more of that “racial balancing” or factoring in skin color when choosing who gets a seat at the nation’s top universities.
It’s all about “equal protection” now, and the domino effect is evident. The justices didn’t mince words—race shouldn’t dictate the opportunities people get, no matter how noble the intentions behind it may seem.
The Biden-Harris administration, however, doesn’t seem ready to give up on its “equity” crusade. They’ve been doubling down, determined to keep racial preferences alive in any way they can. For them, it’s about “leveling the playing field,” or so they say.
From federal contracts to educational grants, they’ve leaned in hard. But, as you might expect, the pushback has been fierce. The administration’s strategies—championing so-called “woke” policies—have faced mounting opposition, particularly from small business owners and conservative legal groups.
From Daily Wire:
A federal judge this week ruled against a Biden-Harris administration program that allocated around $37 billion in federal road contracts for businesses owned by women and racial minorities, raising questions about the future of a decades-old affirmative action program.
Now, the latest blow comes from a federal judge in Kentucky who just ruled against one of Biden’s big affirmative action pet projects. The Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Program, which has been around since the 1980s, sets aside billions for businesses owned by women and racial minorities.
Under Biden’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the program reauthorized a cool $37 billion for such businesses. Sounds great, right? Not so fast. Two small businesses, Mid-America Milling and Bagshaw Trucking, weren’t thrilled with losing out on contracts—82 contracts, to be exact—because they didn’t check the right demographic boxes.
On Monday, Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove made it clear: the Biden administration couldn’t enforce the DBE’s affirmative action quotas against these companies. He emphasized that while the government might have good intentions to correct past wrongs, it still had to follow the Constitution.
In short, you can’t use discrimination to fight discrimination. It’s the kind of straightforward logic that seems to be gaining traction post-Supreme Court’s ruling.
The judge’s decision is another chapter in a growing trend—affirmative action programs are getting a real hard look, and not just in universities. The DBE program, which for decades has reserved 10% of federal road-building contracts for minority- and women-owned businesses, is starting to feel the heat. And it’s not alone.
The Minority Business Development Agency and the Small Business Administration have also been told by other courts to rethink their race-based policies. It’s becoming harder to argue that classifying people by race in the name of equity holds water under the Constitution.
The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL), representing the two businesses, isn’t holding back either. Their lawyer, Daniel Lennington, told The Daily Wire that this decision represents a major blow to the administration’s broader “equity agenda.” He’s right. If you can’t justify race-based preferences in federal contracts, the entire foundation of the DBE program is on shaky ground.
And WILL isn’t stopping here. After the discovery process wraps up, they’ll ask the court to block any company from being subject to these DBE requirements. If that happens, you can bet there will be some serious changes to how federal dollars are doled out.
For decades, companies across the country have come to assume that the DBE program was just part of the landscape—another cost of doing business in the road-building industry. But with decisions like this, that assumption may soon be a relic of the past.
What’s next? That remains to be seen, but one thing’s for sure—Biden’s “equity agenda” is facing an uphill battle in the courts. This isn’t just a fight about contracts; it’s about fundamental principles of fairness and equal treatment under the law.
And the fallout isn’t limited to just businesses, either. As these rulings continue to pile up, they raise broader questions about whether we’ll see the rollback of other race-based programs across government.
For the Biden administration, it’s a major challenge. For small business owners like those at Mid-America Milling, it’s a victory they’ve waited years for. When your company is underbid just because of the color of your skin—or worse, who you are not—it’s hard to argue that’s equality.
In the end, while the administration is busy making its case for “equity,” judges like Van Tatenhove are drawing a line in the sand: discrimination is discrimination, no matter how well-intentioned it might be.
The days of quietly enforcing racial quotas under the guise of leveling the playing field may be coming to an end. After all, fairness isn’t about tipping the scales—it’s about making sure everyone stands on even ground.
Key Takeaways:
- A federal judge ruled against the Biden-Harris administration’s $37 billion DBE program, which allocated road contracts to women- and minority-owned businesses.
- The ruling comes after two small businesses sued, claiming they lost out on 82 contracts due to affirmative action quotas.
- This decision is part of a broader pushback against race-based federal programs following the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling on affirmative action.
Source: Daily Wire
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