Mark Bauerlein, a conservative professor and contributing editor to First Things, published an op-ed in the New York Times arguing against cuts to government arts funding while simultaneously attacking progressive scholars and NEH grants he deems wasteful. He suggests that instead of slashing the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Trump administration should repurpose it to promote conservative cultural values, citing examples like funding for a curriculum on race and comics or a database of a historic gay travel guide as wasteful.
This matters because it reveals a deep ideological split within conservative cultural policy debates, where figures like Bauerlein seek to weaponize arts agencies for partisan ends rather than defend them as neutral public goods. The article highlights how the fight over arts funding has become entangled with broader culture wars over DEI, gender ideology, and academic freedom, with potential implications for the future of federal support for the humanities and arts in the United States.