Humanities Endowment Decided to Fund Trump After Removing Old Grants

The National Endowment for the Humanities has suddenly decided to cancel almost all of its existing grants in April, wanting to pivot to “the president’s agenda”. [1] The turmoil at the endowment began in March, when a Biden appointee, previously having served as chair, was forced out. The Department of Government Efficiency began investigating its programs.

In April, the endowment canceled most of its programs. They also laid off about half of its staff of about 180 members. [1] It also plans to dedicate billions of dollars to the National Garden of American Heroes, Trump’s planned patriotic garden. This has prompted a significant outcry from historians and has led to lawsuits about the improper use of the money.

A month later, Oregon Humanities and the Federation of State Humanities Councils sued the endowment and DOGE, saying the sudden cuts were destruction spearheaded by DOGE. In the ruling, the judge wrote that “likely to succeed on their claim that the withholding of the funds at issue in this case is unconstitutional.” [2] This ruling temporarily stopped the mass cancellation of National Endowment for the Humanities. [3]

In July, a New York federal court also ruled that the government violated the law in canceling humanities grants that were already awarded. It said that the grants should be reinstated until the case has already been tried. [2]

Phoebe Stein, the president of the Federation of State Humanities Councils, said that virtually every council has cut staff. This makes it extremely difficult for councils to plan, including for the 250th council.

Sources:

1. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/05/arts/national-endowment-for-the-humanities-trump-grants.html

2. https://www.npr.org/2025/08/07/nx-s1-5495365/neh-national-endowment-for-the-humanities-lawsuit

3. https://apnews.com/article/doge-humanities-grants-trump-1b692b8828141f57335cf701e5450722