The Washington Post
Julian Mark
May 28, 2025
The Transportation Department initiative, which serves an estimated 49,000 contractors, was a key lifeline for many minority- and women-owned businesses.
On Wednesday, the Trump Administration moved to end the long-standing Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program (DBE) program.
The Department of Transportation (DOT) reversed course and joined the plaintiffs in a Kentucky court case asserting that the DBE program is unconstitutional, and a funding set aside violates the equal protection component of the Constitution primarily because it presumes these companies have a social and economic disadvantage.
This program, authorized by Congress in 1983, serves 49,000 women and minority owned business, and was designed to prevent discrimination in government contracting.
