The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) rejected Hurricane Helene repair efforts in Asheville, N.C., because the city’s proposed recovery plan features a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) program that conflicts with President Trump’s January executive order.
“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,” HUD Secretary Scott Turner said in a statement on Monday.
“However, Asheville’s draft action plan incorporated DEI criteria to prioritize some impacted residents over others, which was unacceptable,” he added. “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.”
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.”
“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.
On his first day in office, Jan. 20, Trump penned an executive order seeking to eliminate DEI practices in the federal government. The order directed the Office of Personnel Management and the Office of Management and Budget to work with agencies to end “all discriminatory programs.”
North Carolina was devastated by Hurricane Helene. The storm left an estimated $59.6 billion in damages, according to the state’s Office of State Budget and Management report, which was published in December last year.
Western North Carolina, and particularly the area in and around Asheville, suffered some of the worst damage in the state with mudslides and flooding, leaving dozens of people dead and wrecking roads and buildings.
“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,” Turner said.