Judge Deals Blow to Biden Equity Agenda, Rules Minority-Business Aid Agency Must Be Open to All Races

A federal judge in Texas struck a blow this week against race-based discrimination by the Biden administration, ruling that an agency tasked with aiding disadvantaged businesses cannot limit its services based on arbitrary racial classifications.

The ruling by U.S. District Judge Mark T. Pittman could have implications for federal programs nationwide and the future of President Joe Biden’s “whole-of-government equity agenda.”

In a 93-page ruling on Tuesday, Pittman said that the 55-year-old Minority Business Development Agency’s use of a “codified list of preferred races/ethnicities to determine who gets benefits and who doesn’t” is unconstitutional. “Today the clock runs out,” he wrote.