Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Scott Turner has decisively rejected Asheville, North Carolina’s outrageous $225 million disaster relief request.
The reason? A jaw-dropping Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) clause buried deep in the city’s draft action plan—a clause that prioritizes woke ideology over the urgent needs of everyday Americans still reeling from Hurricane Helene’s devastation six months ago.
In an interview with Fox Business’s Maria Bartiromo, Secretary Turner condemned the city’s initial draft action plan for prioritizing assistance based on race and gender identity rather than need.
“This draft action plan that the city of Asheville presented at first has elements of DEI, and that is not acceptable to HUD,” Turner told Bartiromo.
“It’s not acceptable to the President, according to his executive order to get rid of all DEI. We’re working with the city of Asheville. They have been very responsive to make sure that their upcoming draft action plan is in compliance with HUD and how we give funds out according to HUD’s principles.”
“We’re happy to be here. They’re working with us, and we’re looking forward to helping the people of Asheville recover from this disaster.”
WATCH:
#BREAKING: HUD Secretary, Scott Turner, has REJECTED a proposal by the City of Asheville NC for $225 million in disaster relief.
It was uncovered that buried in the proposal was a clause that the city would “prioritize” DEI when distributing disaster relief funds to victims… pic.twitter.com/Bd2rfgEMgS
— Matt Van Swol (@matt_vanswol) March 11, 2025
Asheville’s request explicitly included plans to prioritize Minority and Women-Owned Businesses (MWBE) within its Small Business Support Program.
The draft proposal states, “Within the Small Business Support Program, the City will prioritize assistance for Minority and Women Owned Businesses (MWBE) within the scoring criteria outlined within the policies and procedures.”
“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. 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,” Secretary Scott Turner said in a statement.
“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,” he added.
The Trump administration won’t let radical ideology derail the recovery of America’s heartland. Secretary Turner’s stand is a beacon of hope for a nation desperate to move past the divisive policies of the past and focus on what really matters.
According to the press release, “President Trump’s Day One Executive Order to end radical and wasteful government DEI programs and preferencing eliminated discriminatory government-funded DEI practices. President Trump an end to manipulated standards in the name of discriminatory “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) initiatives.”
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