Women First National Legislative Committee has joined a coalition of organizations working to defend the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Program against legal challenge.
Alongside Women First, the coalition includes the National Association of Minority Contractors (NAMC), Airport Minority Advisory Council (AMAC), Women Construction Owners & Executives – Illinois Chapter (WCOE Illinois), Atlantic Meridian Contracting Corporation, and Upstate Steel. The group is represented by Democracy Forward, the Minority Business Enterprise Legal Defense and Education Fund (MBELDEF), and Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs LLP.
These organizations have filed a motion to intervene in Mid-America Milling Co. v. Department of Transportation, asking the court to recognize their stake in the case and allow them to participate in defending a program critical to leveling the playing field for minority- and women-owned businesses in the transportation industry.
More About the Case
Intervenor DBEs’ Motion to Dismiss and Vacate
The parties supporting the DBE program have asked the court to dismiss the case because the rules being challenged were eliminated in October 2025. Since those rules no longer exist and the government has said they should not be enforced, there is no longer a live issue for the court to decide.
- Intervenor DBEs’ Motion to Dismiss and Vacate (December 23, 2025)
- [Proposed] Order Granting Motion to Dismiss and Vacate (December 23, 2025)
- Plaintiffs’ Response in Opposition to Intervenor DBEs’ Motion to Dismiss and Vacate (January 13, 2026)
- DOT Defendants’ Response to the Intervenor DBEs’ Motion to Dismiss and Vacate (January 13, 2026)
- Central Seal and Charbon’s Response in Opposition to Intervenor DBEs’ Motion to Dismiss and Vacate (January 13, 2026)
- Intervenor DBEs’ Reply in Support of Motion to Dismiss (January 26, 2026)
Press Releases
- Coalition Intervenes to Defend Federal Program that Seeks to Remedy Discrimination Against Minority- and Women-Owned Businesses (Democracy Forward)
- Minority and Women-Owned Business Groups Oppose Proposed Agreement that Threatens Landmark Remedial Program (Democracy Forward)
Lawsuit Documents
- Complaint
- Full docket
- Motion to intervene
- Intervenors’ opposition to joint motion of entry for consent order
- Intervenor DBEs’ surreply in opposition to joint motion for consent decree