OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Vice President Kamala Harris unveiled her “Opportunity Agenda for Black Men” this week; however, some of her proposals may be deemed unconstitutional, according to leading legal analysts.
Harris unveiled her five-point plan last week, which includes providing 1 million forgivable loans of up to $20,000 for “Black entrepreneurs and others who have historically faced barriers to starting a new business.” Another measure within the overall plan includes funding and capital for vocational training “to help expand pathways for Black men to get good-paying jobs.”
Programs that allocate resources based on economic disadvantage and race have faced legal challenges in court. One notable case involved a nonprofit that offered small business grants exclusively to black female entrepreneurs. Another example is a federal disaster relief program that prioritized minority and female farmers, Fox News reported.
“A Harris administration would face a significant constitutional challenge in granting these loans on the basis of race,” George Washington law professor Jonathan Turley told the network.
“It is unconstitutional because eligibility for the money would be determined by race,” Fox News legal analyst Gregg Jarrett noted further. “Harris’ proposal smacks of blatant vote-buying.”
Dan Fee is an attorney, political consultant, and president of the Philadelphia-based Echo Group, a crisis and communications firm that has represented high-profile clients such as former Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell and Rep. Donald Norcross, D-N.J.
Fee disputed these criticisms, telling Fox that it would “stun” him if policies like those Harris proposed for Black men were not thoroughly vetted before being introduced. “If you want to attack the problem of poverty at its source, this is a smart policy,” he claimed.
Alongside the economics-focused policies exclusively for black men — who’s support Harris has been shedding on the campaign trail — her five-point policy plan includes the legalization of marijuana at the federal level and the establishment of a “National Health Equity Initiative focused on Black Men” to examine health challenges that “disproportionately impact” this demographic.
The Office of Civil Rights at the Department of Health and Human Services has examined the latter initiative—tailoring and providing services based on race—due to worries about discrimination.
Biden administration proposals offering economic relief based on racial and gender identity groups have also encountered legal challenges. For instance, earlier this year, a federal judge blocked an Agriculture Department disaster aid program that prioritized minority and female farmers, ruling that it discriminated against White male farmers.
According to Fox, a different federal initiative that gave preferences based on gender and race to restaurant owners affected by the COVID-19 pandemic had a similar outcome.
Jarrett called the agriculture program “clearly discriminatory against white farmers” and argued that the VP “surely knows” her plan would meet the same fate. “But her immediate interest appears to be pandering for minority votes,” he said.
Turley also noted that even if this policy appears neutral, it could still be invalidated in court.
“It can still be challenged ‘as applied,’” he said. “That means that while the program is stated neutrally, it is being used in a racially discriminatory fashion.”
Turley went on to say that even if Harris’ plan stated it was aimed at a wide spectrum of Americans, if it is applied much more strictly, targeting mostly one demographic, it can still be challenged as unconstitutional.
“The addition of these qualifying terms is meant to prevent a facial challenge, but that does not, however, prevent an as-applied challenge,” he told Fox.
According to The Washington Post’s report this week, Harris appears to be having trouble winning over the Black vote because he received less support from this group of voters than Biden did at the same point in his 2020 presidential campaign.
In response, the Democratic National Committee launched a bus tour earlier this week aimed at boosting support among this voter demographic as the election approaches its final days, Fox said.
