DEA: Defend, Educate, Advocate

President Trump announced by tweet (or whatever it is they do on Truth Social) that he was somehow “ending” the Digital Equity Act, calling it “UNCONSTITUTIONAL” and “ILLEGAL.” The next day, letters were sent to states and awardees across the country terminating their grants. And so, just like that, nearly $3 billion in funding and years of work came to a halt. So, what are we going to do about it? When President Trump illegally and unconstitutionally attempted to end the Digital Equity Act, I became angry. Really, really angry. Is anybody else in this room angry? But what do we do with this anger? On the one hand, we could let it drive us to despair. The injustice is truly staggering. Our friends and colleagues are losing their jobs, our organizations are losing funding, and our words and ideas are being scrubbed from the public’s vocabulary. It’s easy to feel as if our life’s work is being erased. On the other hand, we could choose to fight. The law is on our side. The data is too. Four years ago, few states knew what digital inclusion was. Today, every state knows, and each has a detailed plan to address it. We made the case for digital equity and won. We can do it again. So, you can probably guess which choice I prefer—let’s fight. The only question is “How do we fight and win?”

[Gigi Sohn is the Benton Senior Fellow and Public Advocate.]