Cultural groups across U.S. told that federal humanities grants are terminated
Source: NPR
Millions of dollars in previously awarded federal grants intended for arts and cultural groups across the country are being canceled by the Trump administration, according to a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) senior official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they're not authorized to speak publicly.
The funds had been awarded by the agency through a competitive application process and, according to the official, covered grants from fiscal years 2021-2025. The official said that "no upcoming awards" will be made in fiscal year 2025.
The official said Acting NEH Chair Michael McDonald told senior staff that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a team within the executive branch dedicated to reducing government spending, "wants to claw back $175 million" in grant money that has not yet been disbursed. It is not clear if that is the true amount of undisbursed funds, or an estimation by DOGE staff.
On Monday, DOGE told NEH staff that it would lay off a substantial number of employees and cut its grant programs, as first reported by The New York Times.
Read more: https://www.npr.org/2025/04/03/nx-s1-5350994/neh-grants-cut-humanities-doge-trump
This was lost today in all the news about tariffs. None of the podcasts have covered it, and while I don't watch TV news, I suspect it hasn't been covered there either.
In addition to the NEH cuts, humanities councils in all the states had ALL Of their federal funding cut. This will close most of the state councils, and Wisconsin's humanities council has already announced it will be shuttered.
This afternoon I posted in GD an email I received from the National Humanities Council notifying us of the cuts. It included a button to very easily write your representatives. The only person who replied argued against writing our congresspeople and senators. (It did get six recs). It saddens me how little concern there is for the humanities. Knowing that the public will go along with it, Trump and DODGE pick the most vulnerable targets. The NEH funds programs on PBS, including the Ken Burns Civil War documentary. They fund research in the humanities by scholars across the nation as well as public programs and innovations in education, both K-12 and higher ed. Now this is gone, and few care. This is one example of why Americans are so ill-educated.
= new reply since forum marked as read
The dumber the better = winning to these fools.
& recommend.
