A federal judge in New York ruled on Thursday that the Trump administration's cancellation of more than $100 million in humanities grants was unconstitutional, and that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) lacked authority to end the funding.
Ruling Details
U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon in Manhattan sided with The Authors Guild, several other groups, and individuals who had their grants canceled and sued DOGE and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). McMahon permanently barred the administration from terminating the grants and criticized DOGE's use of artificial intelligence in the process.
Government lawyers had argued that the cuts of over 1,400 grants using congressionally approved funds were legal moves to implement President Donald Trump's directives, eliminate grants associated with diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), and reduce discretionary spending under the administration's priorities.
The White House and Department of Justice, which defended against the lawsuit, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. It was unclear if an appeal would be filed.
Constitutional Violations
McMahon stated that the government violated the First Amendment and the Fifth Amendment's equal protection right, and that DOGE lacked lawful authority to cancel the grants. She described the cancellations as a textbook example of unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination based on DEI.
"The public interest favors permanent relief," McMahon wrote. "The public has a strong interest in ensuring that federal officials act within the bounds set by Congress and the Constitution."
Reactions from Plaintiffs
Several groups that sued, including the American Council of Learned Societies, American Historical Association, and Modern Language Association, hailed the decision in a joint statement. Sarah Weicksel, executive director of the American Historical Association, called the ruling an important achievement in restoring the NEH's ability to fulfill its mission.
Yinka Ezekiel Onayemi, an attorney for the Authors Guild, called the grant cancellations a direct assault on constitutional free speech and equal protection. He praised the court's decision for vindicating clients and reaffirming Congress's commitment to the humanities.
Role of AI in Grant Cancellations
The judge scrutinized how officials classified grant projects as DEI using ChatGPT to target them for funding cuts. In one case, an anthology titled 'In the Shadow of the Holocaust: Short Fiction by Jewish Writers from the Soviet Union' was labeled as DEI. McMahon rejected the government's argument that viewpoint classification was ChatGPT's doing, not the government's.
"ChatGPT was the Government's chosen instrument," she wrote, "and DOGE's use of AI to identify DEI-related material neither excuses presumptively unconstitutional conduct nor gives the Government carte blanche to engage in it."
Background of Grant Cancellations
The cancellations were announced in April 2025, following Trump's executive orders on DEI programs and DOGE's cost efficiency initiative. Michael McDonald, then acting NEH chairman, sent letters informing recipients that grants were canceled due to repurposing funding in line with the president's agenda.
Most canceled grants were awarded during the Biden administration, with only about 40 spared. McMahon emphasized that while a new administration may pursue lawful funding priorities, it cannot suppress disfavored ideas.
In a previous temporary block of the cancellations, the judge noted that defendants terminated grants based on recipients' perceived viewpoint to drive such views out of the marketplace of ideas.
