Atlanta forfeits $37.5M in airport funds after refusing to agree to Trump's DEI ban

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ATLANTA (AP) — Atlanta’s airport has forfeited at least $37.5 million because city leaders have refused to disavow diversity, equity and inclusion programs as mandated by President Donald Trump’s administration.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, the world’s busiest airport by passenger traffic, declined on July 29 to agree to terms set out by the Federal Aviation Administration. Those terms certify that the airport doesn’t “operate any programs promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives that violate any applicable Federal anti-discrimination laws.”

That language mirrors a January executive order signed by Trump banning DEI programs operated by anyone doing business with or receiving money from the federal government.

The FAA told the Atlanta airport, owned and controlled by the city government, that it was holding back $57 million, The Journal-Constitution reports. But federal authorities said $19 million of that money would be available to Atlanta in the next federal budget year if it agrees to the language then.

The money would have gone to repave taxiways and renovate public restrooms, among other projects.

The language could force the city to give up on a longstanding program that targets 25% of airport business for minority-owned firms and 10% for women-owned firms. Atlanta’s first Black mayor, Maynard Jackson, held up a $400 million airport expansion by insisting that a portion of the spending go to minorities and women. That project put Atlanta on the path to having the world's busiest airport, and the complex is now partially named for Jackson, along with former Mayor William Hartsfield. The city’s minority business programs are credited with helping to bolster Black-owned businesses in Atlanta, burnishing the city’s reputation as a place where Black people could advance materially.

The newspaper found that Atlanta officials unsuccessfully tried to persuade the FAA to alter the language.

A number of other local governments, including New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston and Minneapolis, sued in May to stop Trump’s DEI ban. They argue in a lawsuit filed in Seattle that Trump is usurping powers reserved to Congress by trying to impose funding conditions on congressionally approved grants. A judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from altering the grant conditions for the local governments that are suing, but not for any other governments.

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, who is seeking reelection this year, has said he’s considering changes to the program so the city could keep receiving federal money for a wide range of functions including the airport. Atlanta’s officials are elected on a nonpartisan basis, but Dickens, who is Black, says he’s Democrat.

“The city is currently evaluating all options to ensure alignment with our long-held values, local policy, and federal law and we are confident that the airport will be well positioned to receive federal funds in the future,” said Michael Smith, a spokesperson for Dickens.

In the meantime, the airport plans to “pursue alternative funding to advance these projects without impacting customers or airport service providers,” although Smith didn’t say where that money would come from. The city’s policy has been to finance airport improvements solely with airport-generated income.

In the year ended June 2024, the airport had $989 million in revenue and $845 million in expenses, according to a city financial report. At the time, the airport had almost $1 billion in ongoing construction. Smith said federal funding is “important” but represents less than 10% of the airport’s planned construction program over the next six years.