Federal Court Just Handed Biden Another Major Blow
The Biden administration suffered a big defeat in federal court recently, after a lawsuit challenged the constitutionality of their new Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA).
Created as part of the Infrastructure Act in November 2021, the MBDA is a federal agency dedicated to helping only certain preferred racial groups with grants, training, consulting, government contracts, and other benefits. But in a ruling from Judge Mark Pittman, a Trump appointee based in Fort Worth, Texas, the court held that the MBDA cannot discriminate based on race, striking down the Biden administration’s so-called “equity agenda.”
In his ruling, Judge Pittman delivered a remedial lesson in civics to the administration: “The Constitution demands equal treatment under the law.” His ruling goes against a “whole of government” approach by President Biden criticizing police brutality and racial bias and requiring all his agencies to “affirmatively advance[e] equity.”
Unfortunately, this equity agenda has resulted in a bevy of programs only open to preferred racial groups such as Blacks, Hispanics, Native Americans, and some Southeast Asians. Farmers, restaurant owners, homeowners, small business owners, and federal contractors have all gotten billions of federal dollars through the MBDA based on skin color.
The MBDA won’t help all minority business owners, however. For example, it excludes business owners “who trace their ancestry” to the Middle East, North Africa, or North Asia, as well as minority business owners who own less than 51% of their business. Unfortunately, most non-White racial groups are excluded from the Biden administration’s definition of “minority businesses.”
Leading the challenge to the Biden administration’s MBDA were Greg Nuziard, Christian Bruckner, and Matt Piper, all small business owners from Texas, Florida, and Wisconsin. Represented by the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, their lawsuit argued that the MBDA was an unconstitutional agency that discriminated based on race.
These founders were told in an email from the MBDA office in Orlando, Florida, that because they were White, they couldn’t get help but would be “referred to our strategic partner… for assistance.” Separate but equal, literally.
Biden’s attorneys vigorously defended this race-based agency in court, claiming it was remedying “the effects of past inequities stemming from racial prejudice.” While the Biden administration was trying to implement its own noble-sounding narrative about “building community wealth” for “underserved communities,” Chief Justice John Roberts warned that “divvying us up by race” is a “sordid business."
The fight against the Biden administration’s equity agenda is far from over. Every week, the Biden administration pushes yet another discriminatory program based on race. Americans seeking equality under the law must continue to stand up and challenge any discrimination they see.
Judge Pittman’s ruling was a victory for justice and constitutional law, and a reminder that true equity requires that all Americans be treated equally under the law, regardless of their skin color or ancestry.