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The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has temporarily rejected a draft action plan submitted by the City of Asheville, North Carolina, because it proposed using Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) criteria for distributing Hurricane Helene disaster relief funds.

HUD allocated $225 million in Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery funding to Asheville to address unfulfilled disaster-related needs following Hurricane Helene. However, the department objected to a section of the draft action plan that stated: “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.”

“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,” said HUD Secretary Scott Turner in a statement. “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.”

Turner added, “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.”