Legal experts say Harris' proposal for black man is 'unconstitutional'

Vice President Kamala Harris announced her Opportunity Policy for Black Men this week, but some of her proposals could be deemed unconstitutional, according to top legal analysts.

Harris announced the five-point plan last week, including providing 1 million forgivable loans of up to $20,000 to “Black entrepreneurs and others who have historically faced barriers to starting new businesses.” announced plans. Another proposal includes funding for job training “to expand pathways for Black men to access high-paying jobs.”

Programs that distribute resources based on economic disadvantage or race have been defeated in court. One example is a nonprofit that provides small business grants exclusively to Black women business owners. Another example includes federal disaster relief programs that prioritize minority and women farmers.

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“The Harris administration would run into serious constitutional problems if it granted these loans based on race,” said George Washington Law Professor Jonathan Turley.

FOX News legal analyst Gregory Jarrett added: “It's unconstitutional because eligibility for the money is based on race.” “Harris' proposal reeks of blatant vote-buying.”

Dan Fee is an attorney, political consultant, and president of the Philadelphia-based crisis and communications firm Echo Group, who has worked with former Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell and Congressman Donald Norcross (D.N.J.). He represents prominent clients such as;

Mr. Fee disputed these views, saying he would be “appalled” if policies like the one proposed by Mr. Harris for black men were not widely scrutinized before being proposed. “If you want to attack poverty at its roots, this is a smart policy,” he said.

In addition to economic-focused policies for black men, Harris' five-point policy plan proposes legalizing marijuana at the federal level and researching health issues that “disproportionately impact” black men. It proposes creating a “National Health Equity Initiative Focused on Black Men.” .

The latter effort, which coordinates and provides services based on race, is being investigated by the Department of Health and Human Services' Office for Civil Rights over discrimination concerns.

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The Biden administration's proposal to provide economic relief based on race or gender identity group is also facing challenges in court. For example, a federal judge earlier this year blocked a USDA disaster relief program that favored ethnic minorities and women farmers, saying it discriminated against white male farmers.

Another federal program that provided financial relief to restaurateurs in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, offering preferential treatment based on gender and race, suffered a similar fate.

Black-owned business, sign outside restaurant, Queens, New York. (Lindsay Nicholson/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Jarrett called the farm plan “blatantly discriminatory against white farmers” and argued that Harris “certainly knows” that her proposal would have the same outcome.

“But her immediate interest seems to be pandering to minority votes,” he says.

Turley also noted that even though the policy is neutral on its face, it could be struck down in court.

“It is possible to object on an 'as applicable' basis,” he said. “That means the program is being used in a racist manner, even though it is described as neutral.”

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Mr. Turley said this means that even with the restrictive conditions on Mr. Harris' proposal, which could potentially widen the expected beneficiaries, it could still face legal challenges. .

“The addition of these eligibility conditions is intended to prevent challenges to the face, but does not preclude challenges from being applied.”

Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris appears on stage during a campaign event at Throwback Brewery. (Daniel Parkhizkaran/Boston Globe via Getty Images)

According to The Hill, Harris and her campaign have struggled to appeal to men, especially black men, and one prominent Democratic strategist said Harris' struggles with men are a “huge problem” for her. He said there is.

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Meanwhile, Harris appears to be having a hard time with black voters, as the Washington Post reported this week that she received less support from that segment of voters than Biden at the same time during the 2020 presidential campaign. Reported. The Democratic National Committee launched a bus tour earlier this week to shore up voter support in the final days of the election.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Harris campaign for comment, but did not receive a response in time for publication.