The News: The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) and the Center for Individual Rights (CIR) filed a major lawsuit against the Trump Administration today, targeting the foundation for many of the remaining federal DEI programs: the preference for so-called “socially disadvantaged individuals.” Entrenched within the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Section 8(a) program, this racial preference authorizes discrimination against millions of Americans in multiple federal programs for grants, loans, contracts, and other benefits. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Revier Technologies and the Young America’s Foundation (YAF).
The use of the phrase “socially disadvantaged individuals”—as a euphemism for race discrimination—exploded during the Biden Administration, which established dozens of race-based programs under the American Rescue Plan Act, the Inflation Reduction Act, and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill. WILL catalogued over 100 of these programs through its Roadmap to Equality and the Health Equality Roadmap. Although the Trump Administration has successfully dismantled many programs, and WILL has obtained judgments against several more, there is more work to be done.
The Quotes: WILL Deputy Counsel, Dan Lennington, stated, “In our previous cases, we challenged several specific Biden-era programs that discriminated based on race. We won. But now is the time for a new strategy that targets the nerve center of many of the remaining DEI programs: the preference for the so-called ‘socially disadvantaged.’ As several courts have already recognized, this is just a code word for race discrimination, and we plan to eliminate its use once and for all.”
YAF Associate General Counsel, Madison Hahn, stated, “For far too long students have suffered under governmentally imposed caste systems that picks winners and losers based on race. Section 8(a) is a prime example. YAF is proud to take this step toward disestablishing race-based discrimination against students.”
Our Clients: WILL represents YAF, a national organization of college students. YAF members, who are highly qualified college students, are being locked out of a competitive Department of Homeland Security fellowship that relies on the Section 8(a) “socially disadvantaged” regulations as part of its requirements.
CIR is serving as co-counsel in this case, and is also representing Revier Technologies, an innovative Louisiana technology start-up developing AI for the construction industry. Revier was rejected from a critical small business grant under the Department of the Treasury’s State Small Business Credit Initiative because the company’s owner is white and therefore did not qualify for the grant, which also relied on the unlawful Section 8(a) regulations. Again, Revier was victimized by the term “socially disadvantaged.”
Additional Background: Qualifying as “socially disadvantaged” is big business. Hundreds of billions in federal tax dollars have flowed through the SBA’s Section 8(a) program and other government grants to select businesses eligible by race. Section 8(a) governs how the federal government purchases goods and services, including massive expenditures through the Department of War.
To make matters worse, the SBA’s program has been incorporated into numerous other programs administered by federal agencies and imposes racial discrimination on small business owners, college students, and countless Americans when dealing with various federal programs.
- NASA mandates a quota to give 8% of all contracting dollars to businesses defined as “socially and economically disadvantaged” by the SBA.
- The Environmental Protection Agency quota gives 10% of research dollars relating to the Clean Air Act to businesses defined under the same “socially disadvantaged” criteria.
- The Department of War uses the “socially disadvantaged” definition in the Section 8(a) program to decide how to award many defense contracts.
- The USDA issues grants to rural small businesses based on the definition of “socially disadvantaged” under Section 8(a).
- The FDIC bases qualification for its Minority and Women Outreach Program on SBA’s definition of “socially disadvantaged.”
- Several states, like Indiana, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, North Carolina, Virginia, and Washington rely on the definition of “socially disadvantaged” in the administration of state programs.
Fighting for Equality: Since 2021, WILL has represented over 100 clients in 25 states as part of its Equality Under the Law (EUL) Project. This is WILL’s fifth lawsuit pending against the Trump Administration. Each pending lawsuit is based on unlawful race-based programs run by federal agencies. The other pending cases include challenges to a discriminatory scholarship program run by the Department of Education, a discriminatory federal investment rule issued by the Department of Labor, a challenge to three race-based programs run by the Department of Agriculture, and the federal Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program, run by the Department of Transportation.
Read More:
- Lawsuit, November 2025
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