Local agencies continue to adapt to federal policy shifts under the Trump administration, including changes to diversity, equity, and inclusion. The Guam Housing and Urban Renewal Authority is moving to safeguard its federal compliance following a North Carolina city’s temporary funding rejection over DEI concerns.

How far do the president's new DEI changes reach? The Trump administration’s rollback of diversity, equity, and inclusion policies is making waves through federal agencies, including the US Department of Housing and Urban Development.  Earlier this month, HUD secretary Scott Turner making the agency’s stance clear, declaring, “DEI is dead at HUD.”

That position put into action when HUD rejected Asheville's draft proposal for its $225 million Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery Program. The plan, designed to aid recovery from Hurricane Helene, allocated funds to DEI-related initiatives, specifically prioritizing assistance for minority- and women-owned businesses.

Mayor Esther Manheimer said, “The city, like many cities, has a program around contracting with minority and women-owned businesses, and so apparently, the reference to that existing program is not something they want to see in the action plan.” She confirmed confirming the action plan has been revised to address DEI concerns, and was reassured that funding remains secure, with the trump administration eager to aid Western North Carolina’s recovery.

It’s an incident to look out for here at home, as deputy director of GHURA Fernando Esteves explained during their board of commissioners meeting on Monday. “The other thing I am concerned with is within our procurement law, there are DEI aspects in terms of certain procurement preferences to certain classes that, as we’re seeing with Asheville, is going to get rejected," he said.

It’s why Esteves says GHURA will opt to adopt the federal standards strictly for disaster recovery funds. “We are following the local procurement law, which says follow the federal requirement as first, as the priority - and that’s what we’re doing," he said.