(I've been to Asheville several times and it is a fart-sniffer's paradise.)

From: https://tinyurl.com/8u9j939y (thegatewaypundit.com)

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HUD Secretary Scott Turner Rejects Asheville's $225M Disaster Relief Request
After Shocking DEI Clause Exposed

by Jim Hoft Mar. 12, 2025 1:05 pm

Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Scott Turner has decisively
rejected Asheville, North Carolina's outrageous $225 million disaster
relief request.

The reason? A jaw-dropping Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) clause
buried deep in the city's draft action plan-a clause that prioritizes woke
ideology over the urgent needs of everyday Americans still reeling from
Hurricane Helene's devastation six months ago.

In an interview with Fox Business's Maria Bartiromo, Secretary Turner
condemned the city's initial draft action plan for prioritizing assistance
based on race and gender identity rather than need.

"This draft action plan that the city of Asheville presented at first has
elements of DEI, and that is not acceptable to HUD," Turner told
Bartiromo.

"It's not acceptable to the President, according to his executive order to
get rid of all DEI. We're working with the city of Asheville. They have
been very responsive to make sure that their upcoming draft action plan is
in compliance with HUD and how we give funds out according to HUD's
principles."

"We're happy to be here. They're working with us, and we're looking
forward to helping the people of Asheville recover from this disaster."

#BREAKING: HUD Secretary, Scott Turner, has REJECTED a proposal by the
City of Asheville NC for $225 million in disaster relief.

It was uncovered that buried in the proposal was a clause that the city
would "prioritize" DEI when distributing disaster relief funds to
victims... pic.twitter.com/Bd2rfgEMgS

- Matt Van Swol (@matt_vanswol) March 11, 2025

Asheville's request explicitly included plans to prioritize Minority and
Women-Owned Businesses (MWBE) within its Small Business Support Program.

The draft proposal states, "Within the Small Business Support Program, the
City will prioritize assistance for Minority and Women Owned Businesses
(MWBE) within the scoring criteria outlined within the policies and
procedures."

"HUD looks forward to helping thousands of North Carolinians rebuild after
Hurricane Helene by directing funding assistance to impacted businesses,
non-profit organizations and neighborhoods. However, Asheville's draft
action plan incorporated DEI criteria to prioritize some impacted
residents over others, which was unacceptable. After HUD informed
Asheville that its plan was unsatisfactory and it would not be approved,
the city assured us that it was updating its draft action plan to be
compliant," Secretary Scott Turner said in a statement.

"Once again, let me be clear DEI is dead at HUD. We will not provide
funding to any program or grantee that does not comply with President
Trump's executive orders," he added.

The Trump administration won't let radical ideology derail the recovery of
America's heartland. Secretary Turner's stand is a beacon of hope for a
nation desperate to move past the divisive policies of the past and focus
on what really matters.

According to the press release, "President Trump's Day One Executive Order
to end radical and wasteful government DEI programs and
preferencing eliminated discriminatory government-funded DEI practices.
President Trump an end to manipulated standards in the name of
discriminatory "diversity, equity, and inclusion" (DEI) initiatives."
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-- Sean

... Everyone's an atheist until it's time for a BIOS update.
--- MultiMail/Linux
* Origin: Outpost BBS * Johnson City, TN (618:618/1)