Judge rules Trump administration’s cancellation of humanities grants was unconstitutional
McMahon said DOGE used ChatGPT to flag thousands of humanities grants as DEI-related and ordered the terminations rescinded.
- On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon ruled the Department of Government Efficiency's mass cancellation of more than 1,400 NEH grants was "unlawful" and "unconstitutional," permanently barring the administration from enforcing the terminations.
- DOGE terminated the grants in April 2025, prompting The Authors Guild to sue, arguing the executive branch "has no constitutional authority" to block spending based on the president's policy preferences.
- Judge McMahon criticized the government's use of ChatGPT to identify "DEI" projects, noting the AI wrongly flagged an anthology titled "In the Shadow of the Holocaust" as a target for elimination.
- McMahon issued a permanent injunction ordering the rescission of termination notices, stating "Defendants are permanently enjoined from enforcing or giving effect to the Mass Termination" of NEH grants.
- The decision reaffirms Congress's 60-year commitment to the humanities, as McMahon wrote the public has a strong interest in ensuring federal officials act within the bounds set by the Constitution.
36 Articles
36 Articles
DOGE Used ChatGPT to Cut $100 Million in Humanities Grants, and a Judge Just Called It Unconstitutional
A federal judge has permanently blocked the Trump administration from cancelling more than $100 million (£73.7 million) in humanities grants after two former Department of Government Efficiency staffers admitted they used ChatGPT to scan the funding for keywords like 'DEI,' 'LGBTQ,' and 'equity' and flagged them for termination. US District Judge Colleen McMahon in Manhattan ruled on Thursday that the cancellation of more than 1,400 National End…
Judge rules Trump administration’s cancellation of humanities grants was unconstitutional
The Trump administration’s cancellation of more than $100 million in humanities grants to scholars, writers, research groups and other organizations was unconstitutional, and the Department of Government Efficiency had no authority to end the funding, a federal judge in New York ruled on Thursday.
Judge deals another blow to the Trump admin
President Donald Trump’s attempt to cancel more than $100 million in humanities grants was just overturned in court.U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon in Manhattan sided with The Authors Guild over the government in determining that Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) engaged in “viewpoint discrimination” when they targeted those institutions, according to the Associated Press. By targeting a number of arts and humanities p…
Federal Judge Restores Millions in NEH Grants
On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon found that the mass termination of more than 1,400 grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities was unconstitutional. In April 2025, NEH officials and staff from the Department of Government Efficiency canceled grants representing over $100 million in congressionally appropriated funds. The following month, the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS), the American Historical Associat…
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