Palm Beach County, facing loss of $600 million in grant funds, suspends DEI programs

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Palm Beach County commissioners have suspended all DEI programs to avoid the risk of losing more than $600 million in federal and state funds used to pay for airport improvements, highway work and scores of other capital projects.
The end of diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts means the Office of Equal Business Opportunity will no longer be able to steer county work to women- and minority-owned businesses. A program it oversees required contractors to grant part of their work to certified women- and minority-owned companies.
In the third quarter of 2024, minority- and women-owned companies received contracts worth more than $7 million, or about 9% of the total awards. The county department will continue to exist, but will not require any awards to be made based on race or gender.
Following an emotional two-hour discussion, the commission voted 6-1 on June 3 to accept the county attorney's call for the suspension to comply with President Donald Trump's two executive orders prohibiting the use of federal funds to promote gender ideology or programs based on race and sex-based diversity.
Commissioner Bobby Powell, the lone Black representative on the commission, argued that DEI programs are needed 'to level the playing field.'
Powell called the executive orders 'troubling,' and said 'they will shut out hard-working Americans trying to achieve the American dream. As Dr. Martin Luther King said: 'The time is always right to do what is right.' Neither executive order is right. I can't support this (the suspension of DEI).'
Most of Powell's colleagues agreed but said they had no choice but to suspend the DEI programs or risk losing hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funds.
'Disparity studies show that minorities and women have not received their fair share of county work,' Commissioner Gregg Weiss said. 'This is one of the most difficult votes I have made, but we cannot afford to lose those federal funds.'
The county is in the midst of another disparity study that must now be suspended. More than $400,000 has been spent on that work so far.
Weiss noted that the county attorney pointed out that a department head receiving a federal grant has to certify that the county is complying with Trump's executive orders. There is the threat of criminal charges against the county employee if he or she wrongly certifies that the grant complies with the executive orders, he said, adding: 'We cannot let that happen.'
But Commissioner Sara Baxter, quoting Dr. Martin Luther King, defended the executive orders, arguing that they help ensure that everything is merit-based. 'Hiring the best person for a job is a good thing, not a bad thing," she said. "I cannot understand why we would condemn this.'
Powell countered by saying: 'If you are going to quote Dr. King, quote the entirety of the quote.'
In April, the Palm Beach County School district also repealed the district's diversity, equity and inclusion rules and statements, heeding a threat from the Trump administration to pull federal funds from school districts that don't drop them.
At risk is $300 million from the federal government in fiscal year 2025 used to recruit, train and retain teachers working in schools with a high percentage of poor students. The money is also being used for student meals and to educate special needs students as well as those still learning English.
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County Attorney Denise Coffman said that her office could legally challenge the executive orders but noted that several such challenges have already been filed. She expects the U.S. Supreme Court to make a final decision in about 12 months and suggested that the county await the outcome of that litigation. The suspension will stay in effect until then.
Coffman said she urged that the commission act on an emergency basis after the Department of Airports concluded it could not certify a $10 million grant due to the DEI programs in place. Because the June 3 vote was classified as an emergency, it was necessary that it receive the six yes it did to pass.
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Like Weiss, Commissioner Joel Flores said he was reluctant to vote yes. He said he is 'deeply troubled' by the executive orders. He argued that DEI programs help fuel economic growth, but the executive orders punish the very communities that have helped build this country.
'That being said, I cannot allow the county to risk losing all that federal money,' he said.
Mike Diamond is a journalist at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. He covers Palm Beach County government and issues concerning HOAs. You can reach him at [e-mail]. Help support local journalism. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Palm Beach County suspends DEI programs