Asheville, NC – March 12, 2025 – In a decisive move, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Scott Turner has rejected a draft hurricane relief plan submitted by Asheville, North Carolina, citing its inclusion of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) criteria as a violation of federal guidelines. The plan, intended to distribute $225 million in federal disaster relief funds following the devastation of Hurricane Helene in September 2024, sparked controversy for prioritizing aid to minority- and women-owned businesses, a provision Turner deemed unacceptable under current administration policy.
Asheville, a liberal enclave in a predominantly Republican state, released its 125-page draft action plan on March 4, outlining how it would allocate the Community Development Block Grant–Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funding provided by HUD. A key section, titled “How Programs Will Support Vulnerable Populations,” proposed that the city’s Small Business Support Program would “prioritize assistance for Minority and Women Owned Businesses (MWBE) within the scoring criteria.” This language drew immediate scrutiny from HUD, which informed city officials that the plan would not be approved in its current form.
In a statement issued on March 11, Secretary Turner emphasized HUD’s stance: “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, who visited western North Carolina on Tuesday to assess storm damage, underscored the department’s commitment to aiding all affected residents equitably, stating, “HUD looks forward to helping thousands of North Carolinians rebuild after Hurricane Helene by directing funding assistance to impacted businesses, nonprofit organizations, and neighborhoods.” He added that Asheville’s DEI-focused criteria “prioritized some impacted residents over others,” conflicting with HUD’s principles and President Trump’s directive to eliminate federally funded DEI initiatives.
Hurricane Helene, which tore through western North Carolina last fall, left a trail of destruction estimated at $60 billion statewide, with Asheville and surrounding Appalachian communities among the hardest hit. The storm claimed over 100 lives in the region and damaged approximately 185,000 homes, many of which lacked flood insurance. The $225 million allocated to Asheville was part of a broader $1.65 billion CDBG-DR package announced in January by HUD and North Carolina Governor Josh Stein to support long-term recovery efforts.
City officials responded swiftly to HUD’s rejection, assuring the department that they were revising the draft to remove the contentious DEI provisions. Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer confirmed to local media that the city had adjusted the plan to align with federal requirements, stating, “With that modification, the city is now in compliance.” The updated plan is expected to be resubmitted for HUD approval in the coming days.
The decision has ignited debate among residents and policymakers. Supporters of the original plan argue that prioritizing minority- and women-owned businesses addresses systemic inequities exacerbated by natural disasters, while critics, including Congressman Chuck Edwards, assert that recovery aid should be distributed without regard to identity categories. “Natural disasters do not discriminate, and recovery assistance should not either,” Edwards said in a statement Tuesday.
Turner’s rejection aligns with a broader push by the Trump administration to dismantle DEI programs across federal agencies, a policy rooted in the president’s Day One executive order to eliminate what he has called “radical and wasteful” government initiatives. During a Fox Business interview on March 11, Turner reiterated this commitment, noting that HUD had already terminated $4 million in DEI-related contracts inherited from the Biden administration. “We will serve every American no matter their color, their race, their tongue, their creed because that’s what we’re called to do,” he said. 17GEN4.com
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