Exclusive: Lawmakers Call On USDA To End Biden Era Discriminatory Policies Against White Farmers
Wisconsin’s Republican House delegation is calling for an end to Biden-era programs at the U.S. Department of Agriculture that discriminate against white male farmers. The holdover initiatives that, among other things, offer better loan terms to so-called “socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers” are at the core of civil rights legal battles four-plus years in the making.
In a letter exclusively provided to The Federalist, the lawmakers urge Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins to investigate the case of Adam Faust. The disabled Wisconsin dairy farmer “has been subjected to protected class-based discrimination by USDA … ineligible for certain USDA programs” because he is white and a man, the letter asserts.
“President Trump has taken bold and decisive action to eliminate racially discriminatory policies within the executive branch,” the congressmen — Reps. Tony Wied, Derrick Van Orden, Tom Tiffany, Bryan Steil, Glenn Grothman, and Scott Fitzgerald — remind the Ag secretary. “Agencies, including USDA, have been ordered to terminate all race-based programs and regulations. USDA should comply with President Trump’s order immediately. Each day without reform further disadvantages farmers, like Mr. Faust, based on their immutable characteristics.”
“Based Solely on the Race’
The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty has represented Faust and other farmers across the country in civil rights litigation against the DEI-centric Biden administration. As the letter notes, Faust was the first U.S. farmer to successfully challenge the Biden administration’s $4 billion Farmer Loan Forgiveness Program. In Faust v. Vilsack, a Wisconsin federal court held that granting special loan forgiveness exclusively to “socially disadvantaged farmers” violated the Constitution and anti-discrimination laws. The court issued a temporary restraining order. Several other courts followed suit. The Biden administration suspended the loan forgiveness program and Congress got rid of it, although it created a new program to pay out $2.2 billion to farmers USDA is accused of discriminating against.
Part of the leviathan American Rescue Plan, the original loan forgiveness program offered up to 120 percent “of the total amount eligible farmers own on Farm Service Agency (FSA) Direct and Guaranteed Farm Loans and Farm Storage Facility Loans (FSFL),” NPR reported in June 2021, after the judge issued the restraining order. But white farmers need not apply. Black, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, Native Alaskan or Hawaiian, or Pacific Islander farmers were considered “disadvantaged” and eligible.
Faust was among a dozen white farmers represented by the Milwaukee-based Wisconsin Law & Liberty in the discrimination case.
“The government has created a program that distributes government benefits based solely on the race of the farmer, and Supreme Court precedent is very clear the government can’t do that without a very good reason,” Luke Berg, deputy counsel with the conservative public interest law firm told NPR following the judge’s ruling. “The government hasn’t identified such a reason. It’s only pointed to societal discrimination, systemic discrimination, but the courts are clear that that’s not enough.”
‘Lasting Discriminatory Policies’
While Faust and his fellow plaintiffs won that battle, the war against discriminatory programs at the USDA and elsewhere rages on.
Wisconsin’s GOP House members assert Faust, a constituent of Wied in the state’s 8th Congressional District, remains ineligible for certain USDA programs “based on his race and sex.” WILL notes Faust isn’t eligible for loan guarantees and grants “on equal terms with non-white farmers.”
“Mr. Faust is also charged a fee for the Dairy Margin Coverage Program, while non-white farmers are not. He is one of the 2 million white male American farmers — representing more than 60% of all American farmers — who are still subject to lasting discriminatory policies instituted by the Biden administration,” the lawmakers state in their letter to Rollins.
Last month, WILL sent Rollins and Attorney General Pam Bondi a demand letter giving the administration 60 days to reform the discriminatory programs or face a federal lawsuit.
‘Prompt Reform’
On May 1, USDA issued a statement on the first 100 days of the Trump administration, noting the Ag secretary has “worked to put Farmers First and reverse the woke Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) agenda of the Biden Administration.”
“It is absurd that while the Biden Administration was driving up inflation, American taxpayers were forced to fund billions in woke DEI initiatives,” Rollins said. “American farmers and ranchers don’t need DEI, they need reduced regulations and an Administration that is actively putting them first.” She noted that USDA had canceled more than 3,600 contracts and grants saving more than $5.5 billion.
USDA notes that Rollins on Day 1 issued a memorandum rescinding all DEI programs and celebrations.
“Instead, USDA is reprioritizing unity, equality, meritocracy, and color-blind policies,” the press release declared.
But Biden-era equity programs linger on, the Wisconsin lawmakers say. That’s why they’re asking Rollins to investigate and for USDA to remove all race- and sex-based preferences putting Faust at a disadvantage.
“Furthermore, we call for a thorough review and prompt reform of all other potentially discriminatory programs administered by USDA under the designation of supporting ‘socially disadvantaged farmers,’” the letter urges. The lawmakers note that courts have held that the term socially disadvantaged individuals “constitutes unconstitutional race discrimination.”
“It should have no role in your agency and clearly conflicts with President Trump’s agenda,” the lawmakers write, adding that they would like USDA to quickly handle the matter and avoid “extended litigation.”
Matt Kittle is a senior elections correspondent for The Federalist. An award-winning investigative reporter and 30-year veteran of print, broadcast, and online journalism, Kittle previously served as the executive director of Empower Wisconsin.
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