The Secretary of the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has rejected Asheville, North Carolina’s $225 million draft action plan intended for victims of Hurricane Helene due to a Diversity, Equity and Inclusivity (DEI) clause in the proposal.

HUD Sec. Scott Turner, in an official press release, stated, “Once again, let me be clear DEI is dead at HUD. We will not provide funding to any program or grantee that does not comply with President Trump’s executive orders.”

In an interview on Fox Business, Turner explained that President Trump’s goal is to help the people of Asheville recover, not to push a DEI agenda.

Embedded in the proposed draft action plan submitted by the City of Asheville was a clause stating that rather than distributing the aid based on need,  the city would “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.”

The official HUD press release also states:

HUD looks forward to helping thousands of North Carolinians rebuild after Hurricane Helene by directing funding assistance to impacted businesses, non-profit organizations and neighborhoods. 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.

In the Fox Business interview, Sec. Turner referenced President Trump’s Day One Executive Order to end radical and wasteful government DEI programs and preferencing and to eliminate discriminatory government-funded DEI practices.

Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer told Spectrum News that the city has removed reference of the program that was of concern and that with that modification, the city is now in compliance.