The Trump administration has agreed to reinstate a federal broadband grant programme after a court ruling blocked its attempt to fully scrap the Digital Equity Act, a 2021 law aimed at closing gaps in internet access. Trump had moved in May 2025 to end the grant schemes, calling the law itself racist and unconstitutional, prompting a lawsuit from the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA), which had been due to receive $25.7 million before funding was cut. The ruling matters because it forces the administration to partially restore federal support for broadband access, even as it secures a win by stripping out race-based eligibility criteria.

The Digital Equity Act allocated $2.75 billion across three grant programmes; the Biden administration had already distributed $60 million in planning grants and begun processing applications for the rest before Trump intervened. Judge John Bates, a Bush appointee, ruled the government cannot allocate funds based on race or ethnicity but can still use factors such as income, age and disability. The government says it will reopen applications for the $1.25 billion Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program in December, though NDIA must reapply from scratch; a separate $1.44 billion programme for states, not covered by the lawsuit, shows no sign of being restored.