With Denunciation of Digital Grants as ‘Woke Handout,’ $2.5 Billion in Funding Scrapped
As of Dec. 5, the government had not yet filed its response.
In 2025, one of the nation’s most ambitious attempts to close the digital divide collapsed.
12 Days of Broadband 2025 (click to open)
- On the First Day of Broadband, my true love sent to me: One Carr driving the Federal Communications Commission.
- On the Second Day of Broadband, my true love sent to me: Two superpowers racing toward AI superintelligence dominance.
- On the Third Day of Broadband, my true love sent to me: Three branches of government (and some formerly independent agencies).
- On the Fourth Day of Broadband, my true love sent to me: Four programs with Universal Service Funds.
- On the Fifth Day of Broadband, my true love sent to me: 56 states and territories without digital equity grants.
- On the Sixth Day of Broadband, my true level sent to me: Less than 6 months for a broadband permit.
- On the Seventh Day of Broadband, my true love sent to me: Data center-powered electricity bills up 70 percent.
- On the Eighth Day of Broadband, my true love sent to me: 800 megahertz of spectrum to sell at auction.
- On the Ninth Day of Broadband, my true love sent to me: $9 billion + 12 billion (or $21 billion) in BEAD remaining funds.
- On the Tenth Day of Broadband, my true love sent to me: Not even $10/month for an affordable connectivity program.
- On the Eleventh Day of Broadband, my true love sent to me: Through BEAD and broadband, 110 million locations served.
- On the Twelfth Day of Broadband, my true love sent to me: More than 1200 megahertz of spectrum for unlicensed wireless.
The Trump administration cancelled every pending grant under the Digital Equity Act, a $2.75 billion program Congress funded as part of the bipartisan Infrastructure Act of 2021 to ensure Americans could not only access broadband infrastructure but also afford it, learn to use it, and participate fully in an increasingly digital society.
The decision, delivered first through a Truth Social post and then through a chain of emails, blindsided the communities, tribes, and nonprofits that had spent two years building plans approved by the federal government. It halted $1.25 billion in competitive grants, including $619 million in awards recommended by the Biden administration, prompting the National Digital Inclusion Alliance to bring a federal suit.
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