By Caitlin Yilek
May 7, 2026 / 6:43 PM EDT
A federal judge on Thursday found that the Trump administration’s broad termination of National Endowment for the Humanities grants was unlawful and unconstitutional.
In April 2025, the Department of Government and Efficiency (DOGE) canceled thousands of grants that had been approved by Congress and administered through the NEH. Recipients included major scholarly organizations such as the American Council of Learned Societies, the American Historical Association and the Modern Language Association of America. Those groups sued in May 2025 seeking to reverse the agency’s actions.
U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon ruled that the agency’s mass terminations violated the First Amendment, breached the equal protection component of the Fifth Amendment, and were carried out without statutory authority. Her decision bars the administration from enforcing the grant cancellations.
The court consolidated the case with a separate lawsuit brought by The Authors Guild, whose members also had been awarded NEH funding. In a 143-page opinion, McMahon detailed the agency’s process for targeting grants, finding that DOGE staff did not review applications or underlying materials before flagging awards for termination.
The ruling noted that DOGE personnel relied on ChatGPT to generate rationales for rescinding grants, often invoking concerns related to diversity, equity and inclusion. The opinion also said the officials leading the effort were young and lacked relevant experience in humanities fields.
Plaintiffs argued that the executive branch lacks constitutional authority to block, alter or delay appropriations made by Congress based on the president’s policy preferences. The judge agreed that DOGE exceeded its legal powers and that the terminations infringed on constitutional protections.
DOGE declined to comment in court filings about the specifics of its review process. The ruling restores the status of the affected grants while the legal challenges proceed, clearing the way for the organizations to resume work funded by the NEH awards.