South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson has expressed support for the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) recent move to eliminate race- and sex-based preferences in federal contracting programs. On Monday, Wilson submitted a regulatory comment letter backing the USDOT’s Interim Final Rule, which proposes changes to the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program and the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise in Airport Program.
Under the proposed rule, these programs would continue but would apply equally to all citizens, regardless of race or sex.
“Chief Justice John Roberts said it best—the best way to stop discrimination is to stop discriminating,” Attorney General Wilson stated.
Wilson argued that revising these programs is necessary for compliance with constitutional and federal law requirements. In his letter addressed to DOT Secretary Sean Duffy, he wrote: “Although both programs may be rooted in a laudable desire to ‘level the playing field for businesses seeking to participate in federally assisted contracts and in airport concessions,’ Congress has mandated that the programs use improper and discriminatory means to achieve this objective by assuming that certain individuals—namely, women and certain racial and ethnic groups—are presumptively disadvantaged.”
Wilson also noted that his office has maintained this position over time. In September 2023, his office released an opinion stating that government initiatives based on race or gender are “presumptively unconstitutional.”
