President Joe Biden’s agenda has frequently involved his ostensible desire to achieve racial equity — but critics say some of his proposed remedies are themselves discriminatory.
A legal outfit led by Stephen Miller, a top adviser to former President Donald Trump, recently landed a major blow in court against one particularly controversial Biden policy.
Only “disadvantaged” Americans may apply
As a result of recent rulings, America First Legal has effectively forced the Small Business Administration to stop awarding pandemic-related relief funds to restaurant owners on the basis of race. Miller and other critics have asserted that the practice resulted in white business owners receiving money last — if at all.
Under the president’s plan, white restauranteurs and others not classified as “disadvantaged” were essentially prevented from applying for relief during the first three weeks of the Restaurant Revitalization Fund program, which began receiving requests on May 3.
Congress allocated $28.6 billion for the fund, but it was quickly depleted, with nearly $27.4 billion already disbursed to some 100,000 businesses.
Well over half of the total went to roughly 3,000 applicants who received priority consideration. Those applicants will have their funds frozen following the recent court decision and money is set to be prioritized for those previously forced to the back of the line.
In order to provide all the funding requested, the program would have to contain a pool of funds more than twice as large.
“Never based on their skin color”
The tide in this legal dispute shifted when America First Legal won favorable rulings in all three of its cases in Texas and Tennessee. As a result, the Biden administration was forced to back off of its race-based system.
Miller’s group has previously challenged other Biden policies, including a farm aid program also denounced as discriminatory.
As for the relief payments to restaurant owners, Miller argued that it “inflicted needless pain and suffering on countless Americans through its deplorable and unconstitutiona,l schee that sent restaurant owners — on the basis of their race — to the back of the line for a limited pool of funds.”
Going forward, he said that the president could avoid similar outcomes in the future by simply following the civil rights laws already on the books.
“AFL is immensely proud of its vital work to stop this insidious and lawless attack on civil rights — and to fight for policies that judge Americans based on objective qualifications, and never based on their skin color,” Miller said. “If you pursue government-sponsored racism in any area, then you will go to court.”
The post Trump ally wins major legal challenge against Biden’s race-based COVID-relief program first appeared on Conservative Institute.
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