Judge Partially Blocks DOT's DBE Program
State and Local Government Procurement Team Leader Keith Wiener was quoted in a Construction Dive article on a federal judge's preliminary injunction against the U.S. Department of Transportation's Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program that could affect challenges to the program's constitutionality. He remarked on the ruling's significance, highlighting it as the first to suggest plaintiffs might succeed in proving the program unconstitutional because of its race and gender-based criteria. Mr. Wiener also discussed the federal government's potential responses, saying the government could appeal or pursue alternative legal strategies.
"It's a significant ruling, because it's a case that now stands out as a federal court holding that it believes a plaintiff challenging the federal DBE program would likely succeed in showing that it's unconstitutional," he said.