The Trump White House has been adamant about its efforts to eradicate the remnants of controversial “diversity, equity, and inclusion” programs that flourished throughout the Biden administration.
One recent example of this trend involves the city of Asheville, North Carolina, which recently received notice that its federal funding would be cut due to the nature of a hurricane relief program.
As Fox News reported:
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Scott Turner shut down a hurricane relief draft plan put forth by the city of Asheville, North Carolina, that included a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiative that would have prioritized some residents over others, his office said.
ADVERTISEMENT“Once again, let me be clear, DEI is dead at HUD,” Turner said of axing the plan. “We will not provide funding to any program or grantee that does not comply with President Trump’s executive orders.”
“HUD looks forward to helping thousands of North Carolinians rebuild after Hurricane Helene by directing funding assistance to impacted businesses, nonprofit organizations and neighborhoods,” Turner added. “However, Asheville’s draft action plan incorporated DEI criteria to prioritize some impacted residents over others, which was unacceptable. After HUD informed Asheville that its plan was unsatisfactory and it would not be approved, the city assured us that it was updating its draft action plan to be compliant.”
The city of Asheville, which is a Democratic stronghold in a state that has elected Republican presidential candidates since 2012, posted a draft plan to its website on March 4 on how it could distribute millions of dollars for Hurricane Helene disaster relief, including a section that focused on DEI.
President Donald Trump’s anti-DEI agenda has been overwhelmingly popular among his core supporters as well as many other Americans who believe the left has gone too far in its pursuit of so-called “woke” policies:
BREAKING NOW 🚨 Donald Trump just declared that DEI is DE*AD. LET’S FREAKING GO 🔥
Mainstream Media will be NEXT pic.twitter.com/F9xgh6tUSK
— MAGA Voice (@MAGAVoice) January 31, 2025
People don’t seem to know this but
Asians (and White Americans) are the victims, NOT beneficiaries of DEI & affirmative action
Whites & Asians earn the highest grades & test scores
All we are asking for is a MERITOCRACY
Thanks to President Trump for bringing meritocracy back pic.twitter.com/UiQYkVUNhW
— Lindy Li (@lindyli) March 10, 2025
This was easily the funniest part of President Trump’s address:
Trump: “We have abolished DEI.”
Camera: *Pans to Ilhan Omar*
What are the odds he told them to do that? 🤣
— Jack (@jackunheard) March 6, 2025
The Hill also covered the recent announcement from HUD regarding Asheville:
Asheville rolled out a draft 2025 Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery action plan last Tuesday, with the HUD allocating $225 million. The 125-page plan said the funds would be spent on economic recovery, infrastructure and housing. The biggest portion of it, $130 million, would be spent on infrastructure.
The HUD slammed one portion of the plan, on page 76, where it said, “Within the Small Business Support Program, the City will prioritize assistance for Minority and Women Owned Businesses (MWBE) within the scoring criteria outlined within the policies and procedures.”
ADVERTISEMENT“DEI is dead at HUD. Looking into this,” Turner wrote Wednesday last week on the social platform X, less than a week before officially rejecting Asheville’s recovery efforts.
Here’s some relevant coverage of Trump’s order:
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