President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that he is terminating a lesser-known internet program tucked into Joe Biden’s 2021 infrastructure package.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump slammed Biden’s Digital Equity Act (DEA)—a provision within the $1 trillion infrastructure bill—as both “unconstitutional” and “racist,” claiming that shutting it down would save taxpayers billions.
“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 Thursday morning on Truth Social.
“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!”
According to Newsweek, the initiative includes $2.75 billion in federal grants administered through the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), and the money was approved by Congress.
As described by the NTIA, the purpose of the funding is to ensure that people and communities have the tools and knowledge needed to fully engage in the digital economy.
The legislation, authored by Senator Patty Murray of Washington, included $60 million in grants to assist states and territories in designing strategies for making internet access more equitable, The New York Times reported.
The Times also noted that in the final days before Trump returned to the presidency in January, the Biden administration authorized the release of hundreds of millions more in digital equity funding, though that money had yet to be distributed.
Angela Siefer, who heads the National Digital Inclusion Alliance, responded to Trump’s assertion that the program was unconstitutional, calling it “incorrect.”
“The Digital Equity Act was not an executive order issued at the whim of one individual. It passed with overwhelming bipartisan support in Congress to help close the digital divide in rural, urban, and Tribal communities. 56 States and Territories are counting on the funds to implement essential programs across their states, and their work is already underway,” Siefer said in a statement.
Legal experts told The New York Times that the decision to cancel funding already earmarked for states is likely to be contested in court.
From the start, Trump’s administration has aimed to eliminate government overspending, fraud, and waste. One of its hallmark policies has been to direct grant recipients to abandon diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.

{Matzav.com}