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# New Jersey Lawmakers Urge Restoration of Digital Equity Funding
- URL: https://broadbandbreakfast.com/new-jersey-lawmakers-urge-restoration-of-digital-equity-funding/
- Published: 2025-07-30T20:48:51.000Z
- Updated: 2026-03-11T05:48:51.000Z
- Description: Call for reversal of Trump-era cuts as 22-state lawsuit challenges legal basis
- Author: Jericho Casper
- Tags: Digital Inclusion, #with-siderail, Rob Menendez, Howard Lutnick, Adam Cassady, Frank Pallone, NTIA, DEA, New Jersey

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](https://x.com/RepMenendez/status/1950283277677305914?ref=broadbandbreakfast.com) to X. “My colleagues and I are demanding that they immediately reverse course,” he [stated](https://menendez.house.gov/media/press-releases/menendez-leads-nj-members-calling-commerce-department-restore-vital-funding?ref=broadbandbreakfast.com).

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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](https://broadbandbreakfast.com/trump-says-digital-equity-funding-under-broadband-law-will-be-ended/) the entire program, calling it “racist” and “unconstitutional.”

### *Timeline in multistate suit challenging grant dismissals* 

A coalition of 22 states has [challenged](https://broadbandbreakfast.com/22-states-sue-trump-administration-over-unlawful-federal-grant-cancellations/) 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](https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mad.286247/gov.uscourts.mad.286247.61.0%5F3.pdf?ref=broadbandbreakfast.com) 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.