Suit challenges restaurant aid priority to women, minorities

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A conservative legal outfit on Wednesday filed a lawsuit against President Joe Biden's administration for its prioritization of restaurants and bars owned by women and certain minorities in its COVID-19 relief package, arguing white men are being “pushed to the back of the line" for aid for their eateries.

The lawsuit led by the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty targets the period from May 3 until May 24 during which the $28.6 billion Restaurant Revitalization Fund will only process and fund requests from businesses owned by women; veterans; or socially and economically disadvantaged individuals. Eligibility opens broadly after that period.

Biden has previously said that female-owned and minority-owned businesses have been disproportionately hurt by the COVID-19 economic crisis.

The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in East Tennessee names U.S. Small Business Association Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman as the defendant.

The group sued on behalf of plaintiff Antonio Vitolo, owner of Jake’s Bar and Grill in Harriman, Tennessee. Vitolo applied immediately for aid on May 3, but doesn't qualify to receive aid yet because he is a white male, according to the lawsuit. The group argues the gender and race distinctions are unconstitutional and is seeking an immediate halt to payouts under the program until the government starts processing them on a first-come, first-served basis.

“Given the limited pot of funds, this puts white male applicants at significant risk that, by the time their applications are processed, the money will be gone,” the lawsuit states.

The program relies on a definition of "socially disadvantaged" that is limited to people “subjected to racial or ethnic prejudice or cultural bias because of their identity as a...