GoKawiilThe Trump administration said it will reinstate a broadband grant program to comply with a court ruling that prevented it from fully ignoring the Digital Equity Act enacted by Congress in 2021. The US government said in a court filing that it plans to start taking applications for grants in December.
However, the Trump administration won a partial victory because the judge ruled the government can’t allocate money based on the race or ethnicity of people who would benefit from grants. The government program can still award broadband grants based on factors such as income, age, and disability.
The Digital Equity Act of 2021 provided $2.75 billion for three grant programs aimed at closing gaps in broadband access. The Biden administration started awarding $60 million in planning grants to states in 2022, and in 2024 it started taking applications to distribute the rest of the $2.75 billion. Trump announced in May 2025 that he would end the grant programs, claiming the Digital Equity Act itself is racist and unconstitutional.
Trump and federal government officials were sued in US District Court for the District of Columbia by the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA), an advocacy group that was in line to obtain $25.7 million in grant money before the Trump administration ended the program. The NDIA lawsuit is specifically about the Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program, which accounts for $1.25 billion of the total authorized by the Digital Equity Act.
A separate grant program for states and territories accounted for the other $1.44 billion, but there’s no indication that it will be restarted. It doesn’t appear that anyone sued the Trump administration over the discontinued state grants.
“Massive win,” but also a loss
The NDIA called the revival of the Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program “a massive win for the communities we serve,” though it would have to submit a new application for funding because the Trump administration is starting the process from scratch. In January 2025, the Biden administration selected the NDIA for a $25.7 million grant to provide low- and no-cost devices and assist people in accessing low-cost broadband. The Trump administration later terminated the grant, the NDIA lawsuit said.