County leaders to vote on suspending Minority Women Business program to comply with anti-DEI orders

Leaders in Orange County, one of Florida’s bluest and most diverse communities, will consider suspending the county’s Minority Women Business Enterprise program Tuesday, in order to comply with anti-DEI directives from the Trump administration.

The county’s program, first established in 1988, is intended to expand opportunities for minority and women-owned businesses to secure county contracts for construction, professional services, goods, and other county projects.

It offers certain bidding preferences for certified M/WBE contractors, incentives for minority participation, and sets goals for percentages of minority participation in county contracts. The intention is to help address racial and gender disparities in the procurement process and to promote the business and economic growth of minority- and female-owned enterprises who have historically been underrepresented.

The program, however, may also run afoul of two executive orders issued by the Trump administration in January, county attorneys have determined. These orders target diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives within the government (dubbed “radical” and “wasteful” by the White House) as well as preferencing for minority groups in government programs (a practice the White House describes as “illegal discrimination”).

Violating these executive orders, county attorneys argue, could risk the more than $100 million in grants that Orange County receives through the federal government annually.

Based on a recent memo released by the U.S. Deputy Attorney General, attorneys also believe Orange County could face criminal penalties and significant fines if the county receives federal funding while continuing to maintain or operate DEI-related programs.

“In January of 2025, the President of the United States signed multiple executive orders that sought to extinguish Diversity, Equity, and Includsion [sic] programs and required a certification within federal grants that the recipient of the grant does not have any DEI programs that violate federal anti-discrimination laws,” county records state.

“In order for the County to execute such certifications, it is recommended that the County suspend the Minority Women Business Enterprise Program and any other programs that may be considered DEI.”

“It is recommended that the County suspend the Minority Women Business Enterprise Program and any other programs that may be considered DEI.”

The scope of “any other programs” the county operates that “may be considered DEI” is not further clarified in county documents.

A county spokesperson told Orlando Weekly, however, that the language, per their attorney, is a “catch-all in case there are other policies, programs or provisions that violate discrimination laws.” As for the time being, “There is nothing specific at this time that we know about,” the county attorney explained in a statement.

The referenced memo from the U.S. Deputy Attorney General’s Office, dated May 19, clarifies the new administration’s understanding of the federal False Claims Act, which serves as the Department of Justice’s “primary weapon against government fraud, waste, and abuse,” per the memo.

Trump-appointed officials within the office, aligning themselves with the White House’s rhetoric, have framed DEI programs and mandates as civil rights violations and “racist” forms of preferencing.

“Institutions that take federal money only to allow anti-Semitism and promote divisive DEI policies are putting their access to federal funds at risk,” U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi (a former Florida AG) threatened in a May news release. “This Department of Justice will not tolerate these violations of civil rights — inaction is not an option.”

A June 25 letter sent by Orange County to local M/WBE certified firms, shared with Orlando Weekly, broke the news of the county’s decision to move forward with suspending the M/WBE program. “We understand the significance of this matter and are committed to transparency throughout this process,” wrote Sheena Ferguson, manager of the county’s Business Development Division.

She added that the county is exploring the idea of developing a Small Business Enterprise program instead “as part of our broader commitment to supporting the local small business community in a legally sustainable way.”

“We deeply value your role in the business community and your engagement with our program,” Ferguson concluded.

Not the first

Orange County isn’t the first local government to consider getting rid of its minority business program.

As the Orlando Sentinel reported, the city of Orlando (located in Orange County) decided to suspend its own Minority and Women Business Enterprise program earlier this month in order to avoid potentially jeopardizing four federal grants (totaling $37 million) that would be used for renovations to the Orlando International Airport.

County commissioners in Palm Beach County — home to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate — similarly voted to suspend their county’s own DEI programs this month, despite expressing unease with the vote.

As the Palm Beach Post reports, the commission’s sole Black commissioner Bobby Powell described Trump’s executive orders as “troubling” and said “they will shut out hard-working Americans trying to achieve the American dream.” Another similarly described the orders as “troubling,” but expressed concern about the threat of criminal charges against county employees.

Meanwhile, a vote to suspend a diversity and inclusion department in Fort Worth, Texas (for the same reason) was reportedly delayed this week, according to the Fort Worth Report, after more than two hours of discussion on the issue.

Orange County commissioner Mayra Uribe, who recently launched a bid for county mayor, told Orlando Weekly in a phone call that while she’s “disappointed” about the move to suspend the M/WBE program, she’s encouraged that the county will be pivoting to develop a program to support small businesses.

“We want to continue to have that dignity of being able to say that we’re still going to offer this opportunity to small businesses, because that’s the essence of what we are in Orange County is the land of opportunity,” she said. “We want to make sure we do everything that we’re capable of to ensure the protection of that.”

A study commissioned by Orange County in 2023, conducted by consulting firm Griffin & Strong, confirmed there continued to be a “basis” for the M/WBE program’s existence in the community today, pointing to a “significant underutilization” of minority- and female-owned contractors.

The firm’s analysis of local market, business and contracting data found that, out of the roughly $2 billion that Orange County paid out to contractors for construction, professional services, goods, and “other services” from 2016 to 2020, just about 8 percent of that actually went to certified minority- or women-owned businesses.

A resolution drafted to suspend Orange County’s minority business program this upcoming Tuesday states that the county “is hereby suspending certain programs, ordinances, policies and practices until further action by the Orange County Board of County Commissioners.”

The resolution will be taken up and discussed by the Orange County board of commissioners during their regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, July 1, 2025.

This post has been updated to add comment from commissioner Mayra Uribe.

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This article appears in Jun 25 – Jul 1, 2025.