New Jersey Lawmakers Urge Restoration of Digital Equity Funding
Call for reversal of Trump-era cuts as 22-state lawsuit challenges legal basis
WASHINGTON, July 30, 2025 – House Rep. Rob Menendez, D-N.J., led eight other members of New Jersey’s congressional delegation Tuesday in calling on the Trump administration to reverse its cancellation of $2.75 billion in Digital Equity Act funding.
In a letter sent to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and NTIA Acting Administrator Adam Cassady, the lawmakers demanded reinstatement of funds authorized by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in 2021, including over $20 million previously expected for New Jersey.
“Cutting digital equity funding means denying seniors, veterans, people with disabilities, & other vulnerable Americans the tools they need to thrive in today’s economy,” Menendez said in a post to X. “My colleagues and I are demanding that they immediately reverse course,” he stated.
Joining Menendez in signing the letter were N.J. Democrats Frank Pallone, Donald Norcross, Herb Conaway, Josh Gottheimer, Nellie Pou, LaMonica McIver, Mikie Sherrill, and Bonnie Watson Coleman.
The letter cites widespread support for Digital Equity Act grants, appropriated in 2021, which would fund digital skills training, telehealth access, workforce education, and device distribution for low-income households, veterans, seniors, and people with disabilities.
In 2024, the NTIA had approved more than $18 million for New Jersey’s digital equity plan, with the state eligible for $5 million more through competitive grants. But in May 2025, the Trump administration abruptly canceled the entire program, calling it “racist” and “unconstitutional.”
Timeline in multistate suit challenging grant dismissals
A coalition of 22 states has challenged the Trump administration’s interpretation of a federal grant termination rule that has been used to unilaterally cancel billions in Congressionally authorized funding, including the $2.75 billion Digital Equity Act.
Filed June 24 in the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts, the suit targets a provision in federal grant regulations that allows an agency to terminate funding “if an award no longer effectuates the program goals or agency priorities” – the very rationale used by the Trump administration to cancel the DEA.
The case, State of New Jersey et al. v. U.S. Office of Management and Budget et al., has not yet reached the stage of oral arguments or evidentiary hearings. But a joint scheduling order issued July 25 set the path forward.
The states will file their first major brief on August 4, asking the court to rule on Count I of their complaint, which seeks a declaratory judgment that the administration’s legal justification for canceling grants is invalid.
Defendants, representing more than a dozen federal agencies and senior officials, were expected to file their combined motion to dismiss and/or counter-motion for summary judgment by September 11. Final briefs were scheduled through mid-November.
Member discussion