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  "description": "The decision to cancel the program is under litigation from affected groups and states.",
  "path": "/one-year-after-cancellation-digital-equity-act-tied-up-in-legal-challenges/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-05-08T16:55:31.000Z",
  "site": "https://broadbandbreakfast.com",
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  "textContent": "WASHINGTON, May 8, 2026 – Friday marked one year since the Trump administration moved to cancel the Digital Equity Act, the decision continues to face legal challenges and sharp criticism from lawmakers and digital access advocates.\n\nThe lead plaintiff in _NDIA v. Trump_ , a lawsuit filed in October suing **Donald Trump** and senior Commerce Department officials for the decision, said Thursday that the reversal has forced its affiliates to scrap projects, make difficult staffing decisions, and caused some organizations to shut down entirely.\n\nThe National Digital Inclusion Alliance has launched a monthlong campaign to ensure the President’s request to eliminate Digital Equity Act funds from the 2027 budget is not heeded by Congress.\n\n“The needs have not changed. The resources have,” **Angela Siefer** , executive director of NDIA, a national coalition of more than 2,000 digital inclusion organizations, told _Broadband Breakfast_.\n\n“One year later and grandma still needs help to be safe online, veterans still need guidance to get onto a telehealth appointment and workers still struggle to apply for jobs online,” Siefer said.\n\nOn May 8, 2025, President **Donald Trump** announced the program’s cancellation, calling it “RACIST and ILLEGAL” in a post on his social media platform. The Commerce Department later informed grant recipients that the program relied on what officials described as impermissible racial preferences, effectively terminating funding for projects already underway.\n\nThe Digital Equity Act, enacted as part of the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, marked the first time the federal government dedicated funding specifically to digital inclusion efforts at the state and local levels. The $2.75 billion program was designed to expand broadband access, improve digital literacy and ensure underserved communities could fully participate in the digital economy.\n\nThe Biden-era law complemented the $42.5 billion Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment program, focusing on whether people have the skills and resources to use high-speed internet effectively. Funding supported initiatives such as workforce training, remote learning access, telehealth connectivity and small business development.\n\n### _The cancellation sparked immediate backlash_\n\nIn New Mexico, the state’s congressional delegation, including Sens. **Ben Ray Luján** and **Martin Heinrich** and Reps.**Teresa Leger Fernández** , **Gabe Vasquez** and **Melanie Stansbury** , called on Commerce Secretary **Howard Lutnick** to immediately reinstate Digital Equity Act funding.\n\nThe lawmakers said the program was critical in a state where nearly 2 million residents face persistent connectivity challenges, and argued the cancellation would leave communities “in the digital dark.”\n\nMore than 140 organizations, including city governments and national nonprofits, also urged the Commerce Department to reverse course.\n\nSeparately, a coalition of 21 states and the District of Columbia sued the administration, arguing that federal agencies improperly used regulatory authority to terminate congressionally approved grants. The lawsuit could have broader implications for federal broadband funding programs.\n\n“No one has declared this unconstitutional—no one,” Sen. **Patty Murray** , D-Wash., said at the time rebuking Lutnick. “Your job, Mr. Secretary, is to carry out the law that Congress has passed.”\n\n###  _The suit goes on_\n\nOn Monday, NDIA responded to the government's motion to dismiss the case filed on March 9, urging a federal judge not to.\n\nFiling in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, NDIA argued that its claims are “straightforward constitutional claims.” The case alleges violations of the Constitution’s separation of powers doctrine and Spending Clause, as well as the Administrative Procedure Act.\n\nNDIA is represented by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.\n\nNDIA cited the Constitution’s “Take Care” clause, which requires the president to “take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed,” and said Congress holds the power of the purse.\n\n“The Executive Branch usurped that framework to further its own policy preference of attacking equity-related initiatives,” the filing states.\n\nNDIA has also moved to stay the case, citing overlapping jurisdictional issues with a separate lawsuit.\n\nHowever, U.S. District Judge **John Bates** denied the request, allowing the case to proceed. Bates, a senior judge on the federal District Court, was appointed by President **George W. Bush**.\n\nThe government’s response to NDIA will be due May 25.\n\nAdvocates say the impact is already felt in communities that relied on the funding to expand digital access and training.",
  "title": "One Year After Cancellation, Digital Equity Act Tied Up in Legal Challenges",
  "updatedAt": "2026-05-21T21:48:35.833Z"
}