Why this matters
The Trump administration has been targeting policies with language relating to diversity and inclusion. Transit district officials worried they would lose millions in funding if they did not change the policy.
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The North County Transit District eliminated environmental justice language and changed references to a diversity program in its policies following recent directives from the federal government.
The Transit District’s Board approved two changes at an October meeting regarding diversity language in its policies. In one move, the Board removed a commitment to environmental justice, which officials said was in response to an executive order from President Donald Trump. The Board also changed language in its program to work with small businesses in response to a recent order from the department of transportation.
The Trump administration has been targeting policies with language relating to diversity and inclusion. In January, Trump signed an executive order that overturned a policy enacted by President Bill Clinton that required agencies to commit to environmental justice. In October, the U.S. Department of Transportation cited that executive order among others in its directive requiring agencies that receive federal funding to remove “race- and sex-based presumptions of social and economic disadvantage.”
From the Documenters
This story came by way of a news tip by Nichole Kasper, a Documenter in inewsource’s San Diego Documenters program, which trains and pays community members to document what happens at public meetings.
Both moves had sweeping implications across the country. For example, in New York, the administration froze about $18 billion for two major infrastructure projects to “ensure funding is not flowing based on unconstitutional DEI principles.”
North County Transit District leaders said that if it did not change its policy, the one-quarter of its budget that comes from the federal government could be at risk. The Transit District receives $52 million in noncompetitive federal grants, as well as a $10 million competitive grant for 2026.
Several North County Transit District board members and public commenters criticized the change, but transit officials offered assurances that the district’s priorities and values would remain the same.
“Although I’m horrified that we’re doing this, I feel like we have no choice,” said Jill MacDonald, Solana Beach councilmember who serves as an alternate on the board. “Perhaps at a later date we’ll be able to come back with clarifying language that will make us happier than the action we’re going to take today.”
The transit district took out a section of its policy in which it committed to environmental justice, which transit officials said was originally related to an executive order by President Clinton’s administration. The now-removed policy read: “Environmental justice at NCTD includes incorporating environmental justice and nondiscrimination principles into transportation planning and decision-making processes. Environmental justice requires equitably providing to all residents, regardless of age, race, color, national origin, income, or physical agility, opportunities to work, shop, study, be healthy, and play.”
The district also updated a line to its disadvantaged business enterprise program, which focuses on partnerships with small businesses owned by socially and economically disadvantaged people. The inserted line says that the program “operates in a nondiscriminatory manner and without regard to race or sex, while maximizing efficiency of service.”
The San Diego Association of Governments also ended its commitment to enforcing contracts related to the disadvantaged business enterprise program following the October order, Times of San Diego reported.
Transit District Board members in October advocated for alternative language to ensure that the transit district maintains its goals. Officials said that, at the moment, all they could do was strike the language before they could determine what it could look like in the future.
“Just because you don’t see this language … doesn’t mean that these things aren’t being considered as part of our processes,” said Lori Winfree, the district’s deputy chief executive officer.
Type of Content
News: Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.