CINCINNATI — In a letter sent to Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval last week, Sen. Bernie Moreno suggested the city could lose federal funding over a recently passed ordinance, which Moreno called a "potentially illegal and wasteful (diversity, equity and inclusion) procurement ordinance."
The ordinance, which was unanimously adopted by city council in June, combined Cincinnati's Department of Economic Inclusion and Office of Procurement to create the Department of Economic Inclusion and Procurement.
According to a city memo, the goal of the combined offices is to improve coordination, strengthen oversight of city contracts and create more opportunities for small minority-owned and women-owned businesses in Cincinnati.
"The goal of this reorganization is not to change the mission of economic inclusion, but to strengthen collaboration between the teams responsible for planning, procuring, and monitoring City contracts," the memo stated.
"Taxpayers should never foot the bill for woke DEI policies or initiatives," Moreno wrote in the letter. "Unfortunately, however, the DEI procurement ordinance expands an already bloated DEI bureaucracy at City Hall and creates a new office that will likely subject all the City of Cincinnati’s contracts to a DEI analysis."
Moreno made his case, citing executive orders signed by President Donald Trump last year about diversity, equity and inclusion and urged Cincinnati leaders to review the orders "as an entity that receives significant federal funds."
WATCH: How Cincinnati leaders are responding to threats of losing federal funding
We reached out to a Moreno spokesperson for an interview on Thursday but were told he is unavailable. The spokesperson referred us to Moreno's letter and a press release about the letter.
"Fortunately, the days of choosing public contract winners based on excellence are back. I agree with President Trump that DEI activities are not only unethical and often illegal, but also cause inefficiencies, waste, and abuse within entities that engage in such practices," the letter stated.
A spokesperson for City Manager Sheryl Long declined to comment on the matter.
Friday, Pureval released a letter he sent in response to Moreno.
"As you are aware, this legislation reflects an administrative restructuring approved by City Council to improve operational efficiency and streamline procurement functions. Ordinance No. 2026-1864 does not create new programs, expand existing initiatives, or establish new policy," the letter reads. "It consolidates existing responsibilities to eliminate redundant administrative processes, improves coordination, and delivers a more efficient procurement system for City departments, contractors, and vendors."
Read Pureval's full letter below:
In addition to the letter, in a statement Friday, Pureval said the response was intended to "provide clarity around the administrative reorganization and address any misunderstanding."
"The combination of Economic Inclusion and Procurement is another step in our work to improve efficiency, decrease bureaucracy, and get projects and contracts done more quickly while maintaining the same compliance responsibilities," Pureval's statement said. "Our preexisting policies have not changed. This is exactly in line with the recommendations of the Futures Commission, and I’m proud of our ongoing collaboration with corporate partners and small businesses to drive growth and promote our longstanding economic inclusion goals."
Council member Scotty Johnson was the only council member of the nine we reached out to available for an on-camera interview. He said the ordinance aimed to optimize the contract procurement processes in the city.
"This also provides us the opportunity to be more efficient and quicker in making sure railroad dollars are getting out and addressing the infrastructure that we've promised; that's what it would do," Johnson said. "More than anything, this makes the city of Cincinnati more efficient."
In a statement, Council member Anna Albi said, "I’m elected by the residents of Cincinnati, and Cincinnatians care deeply about supporting our small businesses, which include minority and women-owned businesses. That’s why the City has and will continue to reflect those values in our procurement policies."
In the letter, Moreno asked Pureval to respond, providing the following information:
- The amount of federal funds Cincinnati received in 2024, 2025 and 2026
- The projected cost of implementing the ordinance creating the department
- How the department will seek applications, review and award contracts
- How Cincinnati is complying with the Department of Justice’s Memorandum on guidance for recipients of federal funding regarding unlawful discrimination
- The most data on law enforcement staffing
"From the mayor's office to the city administration to council, we're going to continue to provide access and opportunity," Johnson said. "It's unfortunate that we've got a federal administration that's trying to look under any rock they can to cause division and controversy."
This is not the first time Moreno has alluded to the potential loss of federal funding for Cincinnati based on city policies. In summer 2025, Moreno said he would ask all federal agencies to suspend funding for Cincinnati if local leaders do not "put together an action plan ... to protect the civil rights of their citizens."
The move by Moreno followed the downtown brawl in Cincinnati, which resulted in multiple criminal convictions this year.
You can read Moreno's full letter to Mayor Aftab Pureval here.
