May 7, 2026:
US District Judge Colleen McMahon ruled Thursday (May 7, 2026) that the mass termination by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) of more than 1,400 grants to support scholars, research institutions, and humanities organizations was “unlawful, unconstitutional, ultra vires, and without legal effect.”
In the 143-page decision, McMahon granted the March 7, 2026, motion for a summary judgment on all counts in favor of the plaintiffs: the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS), the American Historical Association (AHA), and the Modern Language Association of America (MLA). Read the judgement.
The ruling declared the actions terminating the grants in April 2025, the largest mass termination of previously awarded grants in the history of the NEH, were “in violation of the First Amendment, in violation of the equal protection component of the Fifth Amendment, and without statutory authority.”
The following statements were issued by the plaintiffs in response:
“This victory belongs to the scholars, students, colleges, universities, associations, state humanities councils, libraries, and local organizations in all fifty states whose work was abruptly disrupted last year. ACLS will continue to press for the full restoration of NEH’s staff, programs, and capacity to serve the public it was created to support,” said ACLS President Joy Connolly. “The humanities are not a luxury. They are how a democracy understands itself. Today’s decision is a step toward honoring the will of Congress and our mission as a nation — to seek the truth, know ourselves, and build a better future on that knowledge.”
“This ruling is an important achievement in our effort to restore the NEH’s ability to fulfill the vital mission with which Congress charged it: helping to create and sustain ‘a climate encouraging freedom of thought, imagination, and inquiry’ through the humanities,” said Sarah Weicksel, executive director of the American Historical Association. “It is a victory not only for the educators, researchers, humanities organizations, universities, and state councils whose grants were terminated, but for all Americans. From history exhibitions and pathbreaking scholarship to library programs and professional development opportunities, the humanities help us understand our past and ourselves, providing all of us with essential tools for our future.”
“We’re thrilled with this ruling, which confirms the illegality of DOGE’s termination of over 1,400 grants,” said MLA Executive Director Paula M. Krebs. “The National Endowment for the Humanities was established to affirm the nation’s commitment to research that helps us to make sense of the world we live in and the scholars who help us to understand our own culture and those of others. In a time when it is increasingly urgent to provide a human context for decisions in science, tech, health, and more, we now have a confirmation that the work our members do is essential.”
May 27, 2025:
NEW YORK (AP) — National Public Radio and three of its local stations filed a lawsuit Tuesday (May 27, 2025) against President Donald Trump, arguing that an executive order aimed at cutting federal funding for the organization is illegal.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington by NPR, Colorado Public Radio, Aspen Public Radio and KUTE, Inc. argues that Trump’s executive order to slash public subsidies to PBS and NPR violates the First Amendment.
Trump issued the executive order earlier this month that instructs the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and other federal agencies “to cease Federal funding for NPR and PBS” and requires that they work to root out indirect sources of public financing for the news organizations. Trump issued the order after alleging there is “bias” in the broadcasters’ reporting.
“The Order’s objectives could not be clearer: the Order aims to punish NPR for the content of news and other programming the President dislikes and chill the free exercise of First Amendment rights by NPR and individual public radio stations across the country,” the lawsuit alleges.
“The Order is textbook retaliation and viewpoint-based discrimination in violation of the First Amendment, and it interferes with NPR’s and the Local Member Stations’ freedom of expressive association and editorial discretion,” it said.
The court fight seemed preordained, given that the heads of NPR and PBS both reacted to Trump’s move with statements that they believed it was illegal. The absence of PBS from Tuesday’s filing indicates the two systems will challenge this separately; PBS has not yet gone to court, but is likely to soon.
The president’s attempts to dismantle government-run news sources like Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty have also sparked court fights.
The administration has battled with the press on several fronts. The Federal Communications Commission is investigating ABC, CBS and NBC News. The Associated Press also went to court after the administration restricted access to certain events in response to the organization’s decision not to rename the Gulf of Mexico as Trump decreed.
May 2, 2025:
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday (May 1, 2025) signed an executive order aiming to slash public subsidies to PBS and NPR as he alleged “bias” in the broadcasters’ reporting.
The order instructs the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and other federal agencies “to cease Federal funding for NPR and PBS” and further requires that that they work to root out indirect sources of public financing for the news organizations. The White House, in a social media posting announcing the signing, said the outlets “receive millions from taxpayers to spread radical, woke propaganda disguised as ‘news.’”
It’s the latest move by Trump and his administration to utilize federal powers to control or hamstring institutions whose actions or viewpoints he disagrees with. Since taking office, Trump has ousted leaders, placed staff on administrative leave and cut off hundreds of millions of dollars in funding to artists, libraries, museums, theaters and others, through takeovers of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Trump has also pushed to withhold federal research and education funds from universities and punish law firms unless they agreed to eliminate diversity programs and other measures Trump has found objectionable.
The broadcasters get roughly half a billion dollars in public money through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and have been preparing for the possibility of stiff cuts since Trump’s election, as Republicans have long complained about them.
Paula Kerger, PBS’ CEO and president, said in a statement last month that the Trump administration’s effort to rescind funding for public media would “disrupt the essential service PBS and local member stations provide to the American people.”
“There’s nothing more American than PBS, and our work is only possible because of the bipartisan support we have always received from Congress,” she said. “This public-private partnership allows us to help prepare millions of children for success in school and in life and also supports enriching and inspiring programs of the highest quality.”
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting sued Trump earlier this week over his move to fire three members of its five-person board, contending that the president was exceeding his authority and that the move would deprive the board of a quorum needed to conduct business.
Just two weeks ago, the White House said it would be asking Congress to rescind funding for the CPB as part of a $9.1 billion package of cuts. That package, however, which budget director Russell Vought said would likely be the first of several, has not yet been sent to Capitol Hill.
The move against PBS and NPR comes as his administration has been working to dismantle the U.S. Agency for Global Media, including Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, which were designed to model independent news gathering globally in societies that restrict the press. Those efforts have faced pushback from federal courts, who have ruled in some cases that the Trump administration may have overstepped its authority in holding back funds appropriated to the outlets by Congress.
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