Braun ends Indiana programs supporting minority- and women-owned businesses

• The purpose of such programs, in place in cities and states around the nation, is to ensure that socially and economically disadvantaged small-business owners are included in government spending.

The big picture: Braun's order is part of a broader national effort to reexamine race- and sex-based government programs and dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives during President Trump's second term.

• When Trump ordered the termination of all DEI programs in the federal government last year — including in employment procedures, union contracts and training policies — and eliminated all DEI positions, Braun followed suit.
• He issued an executive order ending DEI practices in favor of what he calls "MEI," or merit, excellence and innovation.

Driving the news: Braun issued an executive order Wednesday eliminating supplier diversity programs, following an opinion from state Attorney General Todd Rokita that the programs were unconstitutional under the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.

• Braun announced that Indiana will replace race- and sex-based contracting preferences with a "merit-based approach."
• "Our Constitution mandates equal protection under the law, because a system where the government picks winners and losers on the basis of race or sex can never be fair," Braun said in a statement.

Yes, but: Rokita found that contract preferences for veteran-owned businesses are OK.

Between the lines: Rokita supported his opinion with the 2023 U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down race-based college admissions.

• "From Reconstruction to the passage of the 19th Amendment and ending Jim Crow, our country has fought throughout its history to fulfill this promise of equality under the law," Rokita said in a statement.
• "The elimination of race- and sex-based preference programs like the M/WBE program is just the latest step in the march toward equality."

The other side: Condemnation from Democrats and many in the minority community was swift.

• State Rep. Earl Harris Jr. (D-East Chicago), chair of the Indiana Black Legislative Caucus, said ending the programs will create less competition and ultimately cost the state.
• "Gov. Braun's decision erases opportunities for Black Hoosiers, women and other minority business owners who have historically been shut out of contracting — not because they lack merit or talent, but because the system was built to exclude them," he said.
• Chrystal Ratcliffe, president of the Greater Indianapolis NAACP, said that economic opportunity is a civil rights issue and that she's concerned this move will set back progress made in expanding the Black business community.

What they're saying: "You know, we're made to fight back," state Rep. Greg Porter (D-Indianapolis) said during a press conference Wednesday. "As community leaders … as business leaders in this community, we will fight back any way that we have to."

• Porter did not elaborate on what fighting back might look like, though Democrats have questioned whether the governor can use an executive order to end a program created by the legislature.

What's next: The state's Department of Administration has been directed to unwind the programs and update procurement guidance.

• Braun's order does not affect any existing contracts.