Lawsuit Against Humanities Endowment Offers Details on DOGE

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: New York Times

Lawsuit Against Humanities Endowment Offers Details on DOGE
Three scholarly groups are challenging the recent cancellation of most grants by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The offices of the National Endowment for the Humanities in Washington. Last month, the agency abruptly canceled virtually all of its existing grants. Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images

By Jennifer Schuessler
May 2, 2025

Three major scholarly groups have sued the National Endowment for the Humanities and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, arguing that the recent mass cancellation of virtually all the agency’s grants violates the law and must be reversed. ... The suit, filed on Thursday, was brought by the American Council of Learned Societies, the American Historical Association and the Modern Language Association and offers new details about how DOGE conducted its work at the humanities endowment. ... The endowment’s fate has been in question since March 12, when the former chairwoman, Shelly C. Lowe, a Biden appointee, resigned “at the direction of President Trump” and was replaced by Michael McDonald, a longtime employee and the agency’s general counsel.

Employees from the Department of Government Efficiency started visiting the office soon after, according to the lawsuit. Citing accounts by former or current staff members at the endowment, the lawsuit says that two DOGE employees, Nate Cavanaugh and Justin Fox, asked for a list of all current grants and then “indiscriminately terminated the vast majority” on April 2. Nearly 1,500 grant recipients received cancellation letters that suggested their projects were not in keeping with “the president’s agenda.”Three weeks later, the agency announced it would be redirecting $17 million of its funding to create the National Garden of American Heroes, a patriotic statuary park that Mr. Trump has made central to his plans for commemorating the 250th anniversary of American independence in 2026.

The cancellation letters were not sent from the usual email account used for all the agency’s grant-making activity but from a newly created one on a different server. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, claims that although the letters were signed by Mr. McDonald, they were written by Department of Government Efficiency employees. ... At a meeting the next day, according to the lawsuit, Mr. McDonald told staff members that he had not been aware of the full scope of the grant terminations. The suit also says it was Mr. Cavanaugh and Mr. Fox who demanded mass reductions of the 180-person staff; more than two-thirds have since been let go.

The lawsuit contends that those moves violate the Constitution, which reserves the power of the purse for Congress, and also the Administrative Procedure Act. ... “These actions were taken or directed by DOGE, a body not created or authorized by statute,” according to the lawsuit, which also names Mr. McDonald, Mr. Cavanaugh and Mr. Fox as defendants. “DOGE has no lawful authority to carry out the work of another agency, let alone to dismantle it.”

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Jennifer Schuessler is a reporter for the Culture section of The Times who covers intellectual life and the world of ideas.
https://www.nytimes.com/by/jennifer-schuessler

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/02/arts/humanities-endowment-doge-grants.html?unlocked_article_code=1.EE8.p0IM.bhnU6nbIixQ7&smid=url-share

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Reposted by Alt National Endowment for the Humanities
https://bsky.app/profile/altnehgov.altgov.info

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NEH Union - AFGE L3403
‪@nehafge3403.bsky.social‬

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"The suit also says it was Mr. Cavanaugh and Mr. Fox [of DOGE] who demanded mass reductions of the 180-person staff; more than two-thirds have since been let go."

Gift link so you can stay in the loop about what's been happening at #NEH. #humanities

‪American Council of Learned Societies‬
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@nytimes.com covers ACLS, @historians.org, and @modernlanguage.bsky.social lawsuit to restore the NEH: nyti.ms/4jZooy1

Lawsuit Against Humanities Endowment Offers Details on DOGE (Gift Article)
Three scholarly groups are challenging the recent cancellation of most grants by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
www.nytimes.com
May 5, 2025 at 11:34 AM
>>>>>>

"The suit also says it was Mr. Cavanaugh and Mr. Fox [of DOGE] who demanded mass reductions of the 180-person staff; more than two-thirds have since been let go."

Gift link so you can stay in the loop about what's been happening at #NEH. #humanities

— NEH Union - AFGE L3403 (@nehafge3403.bsky.social) 2025-05-05T15:34:24.323Z

[iemanja]

1. It's a lawsuit on behalf of NEH, not against it.

NEH has been decimated by federal cuts. They had to cancel 1200 grants. The organizations suing have had good relations with NEH and want the funding restored. Some had joint grants with the NEH. The current leadership of NEH, however, is out of line.

[yellow dahlia]

2. An important lawsuit to follow.