Conservative legal group sounds alarm over CDC tool, reveals why Trump admin should eliminate race

By Fox News · Fox News

FIRST ON FOX: The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL), a conservative legal group, is requesting the Trump administration remove race from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) "Social Vulnerability Index," which the groups claim is being used by liberal localities to steer funds to communities based on race. WILL refers to what has been taking place as "DEI redlining" in its letter to Trump administration officials at the CDC and the Health and Human Services Department (HHS). They say the tool helps localities prioritize Black and Hispanic neighborhoods over White neighborhoods due to racial composition, independent of any other factors, like poverty. "In the name of ‘racial equity,’ local officials prioritize certain geographic areas for public safety, parks improvements, public swimming pool closures, broadband access, safe drinking water, and disaster assistance," the letter to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and CDC Acting Director Jim O'Neill stated. "And these governments point to CDC’s SVI as the reason for their race-based spending." HUD LAUNCHES CIVIL RIGHTS INVESTIGATION INTO BOSTON’S DEI HOUSING POLICIES OVER ALLEGED RACIAL DISCRIMINATION Among various examples the group highlights is Milwaukee, Wisconsin's county parks department, which states on their website that the Milwaukee Parks Foundation "works to reduce or eliminate racial disparities through investments and activation of park spaces that rank high on the Milwaukee County Park’s Equity Index." Meanwhile, an inter-office communication from 2024 obtained by WILL, updating officials on the "Parks Equity Index," the Milwaukee Parks Foundation points out that "the CDC’s Social Vulnerability Index" is part of its "weighted composite data analysis" meant to help streamline decision-making within the department. "In other words, parks in white neighborhoods are de-prioritized, while parks in non-white neighborhoods are prioritized," WILL argues in their letter to HHS a…