Politics

Secretary rips Asheville's hurricane recovery plan, declaring 'DEI dead at HUD'

By Lightning Reports, Published: March 11, 2025

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner on Tuesday sharply criticized a proposal by the city of Asheville that puts diversity criteria in a Hurricane Helene disaster relief action plan, declaring that "DEI is dead at HUD."

Turner issued the statement after the city posted a draft action plan on its website that included diversity, equity and inclusion criteria as part of how it intends to distribute millions of dollars in Hurricane Helene disaster relief. HUD will not approve the city’s draft action plan in its current form, he added.

“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," Turner said. "However, Asheville’s draft action plan incorporated DEI criteria to prioritize some impacted residents over others, which was unacceptable. 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. 

“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 declared.

HUD allocated $225 million in Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery funding to Asheville to cover unmet disaster-related needs following Helene. In its draft action plan, the city of Asheville wrote: “Within the Small Business Support Program, the city will prioritize assistance for Minority and Women Owned Businesses within the scoring criteria outlined within the policies and procedures.”

Trump's Day One Executive Order "to end radical and wasteful government DEI programs and preferencing eliminated discriminatory government-funded DEI practices," the HUD news release said. "President Trump declared an end to manipulated standards in the name of discriminatory 'diversity, equity and inclusion' initiatives."