Court Asked to Pause DEA-Related Lawsuit Against Trump, Pending Key Court Decision
The National Digital Inclusion Alliance has been fighting to restore a $2.75 billion digital equity program.
WASHINGTON, March 27, 2026 – The lawsuit over the Trump administration’s suspension of grants from the $2.75 billion program to close the digital divide may come to a pause.
The National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) filed a motion Wednesday to put its lawsuit suing President Donald Trump on hold, because there is a similar case further along that would control the outcome.
NDIA was a key player in the Digital Equity Act (DEA), having been one of 65 recommended awardees that were blindsided after having spent two years building plans approved by the federal government. The DEA was a Biden-era program from the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 (IIJA) that worked to ensure Americans could access, afford and fully participate in the increasingly digital society.
In May 2025, Trump halted $1.25 billion in DEA competitive grants, explaining that the act was unconstitutional, racist and illegal.
State lawmakers and more than 140 organizations were sent into a scramble, leading them to mobilize to urge the grants be restored. NDIA took action, representing about 2,000 affiliates, and filed a lawsuit against Trump in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. NDIA challenged the administration’s repeat of the DEA’s grants and NDIA’s $25.7 million award.
But on Wednesday, NDIA filed a motion to hold the case and pause briefing deadlines until the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issues a decision in Climate United Fund v. Citibank, N.A., a suit that will likely produce a binding, controlling decision by a higher court. While the cases are not identical, it argues the same core legal questions that could shape or control NDIA’s suit.
“A stay would avoid a ‘waste [of] both the litigants’ and the Court’s resources’ because otherwise ‘it seems likely that the parties would need to amend or supplement their pleadings,’ as both Plaintiff and Defendants would likely need to amend briefing in response to the motion to dismiss to integrate and account for the Climate United Fund decision. Vt. Nat’l Tel.,” the motion said.
On March 9, lawyers for the federal government filed a motion to dismiss the NDIA’s case, citing that the DEA is unconstitutional and under improper court jurisdiction.
The back and forth may also impact the success of the federal Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program, especially because BEAD’s success depends on take-rates. Without the DEA’s efforts in teaching digital skills and distributing digital devices, the number of people who subscribe and benefit from BEAD may be impacted.
The Trump administration has until April 9 to respond to the NDIA’s request.
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