May 30, 2025

By Lane Kimble

The long-running Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program could soon look significantly different or end all together.

The US DOT filed a document in federal court Wednesday that, if agreed to, would terminate key requirements of the program, the American Road and Transportation Builders Association reported.

U.S. District Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove would still need to approve the consent order for it to take effect.

The filing marks a strong pivot in the federal government’s stance on the DBE program under the Trump administration since two companies sued over its constitutionality prior to the election last fall.

Mid-America Milling Company and Bagshaw Trucking (represented by the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty) sued in September 2024 to block the federal government from using the DBE program to award contracts, claiming it violates the Constitution’s equal protection clause based on race.

Judge Van Tatenhove temporarily paused the DBE program in Kentucky and Indiana (where the two firms are based), but then expanded the order to all states where the firms do business.  Wisconsin was not part of the temporary injunction.

“In practice, the door to government contracting will open not only for our clients, but also for other firms,” WILL Associate Counsel Cara Tolliver said at the time. “The DBE program’s days of sanctioning racial and gender discrimination are dwindling.”

Congress created the DBE program to support women- and minority-owned firms in the early 1980s.  President Ronald Reagan signed it into law in 1983.

While the Biden administration pushed back against the 2024 lawsuit, President Trump and new USDOT Secretary Sean Duffy have shown a desire to cut down on federal regulations and burdens that can slow construction progress.

As we await Judge Van Tatenhove’s decision, ARTBA has urged FHWA to issue guidance addressing this week’s filing and any future rulings.