The White House fired the vast majority of the National Council on the Humanities, the advisory body for the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), on Wednesday during a government shutdown. A letter from Mary Sprowls of the Presidential Personnel Office informed council members that their positions were terminated effective immediately. Only four members remain—all white men—despite a statutory requirement for equitable representation of women, minorities, and individuals with disabilities. The council typically comprises 26 scholars and humanities leaders appointed for six-year terms, and its meetings require at least 14 members. The dismissals come as the NEH has already faced severe cuts, including a two-thirds staff reduction in June and a proposal to eliminate the agency entirely in the 2026 budget.
This matters because the NEH has awarded over $6 billion in grants to museums, historical sites, universities, and libraries since 1965, and the council's role is crucial for advising on grants, policies, and funding decisions. The firings are part of a broader Trump administration crackdown on federal cultural agencies, including the National Endowment for the Arts, which was barred from funding projects promoting "gender ideology"—a ban recently ruled unconstitutional. The move raises concerns about political interference in humanities funding, the erosion of independent advisory bodies, and the future of federal support for cultural and educational institutions.