The Trump administration is moving to eliminate the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) while simultaneously cutting its funding and reshaping its priorities. In early May, the NEH announced $9.55 million for 68 projects, a sharp drop from $26.2 million for 238 projects the previous year. The number of Summer Stipends was slashed from nearly 100 to just 18, with total funding cut by three-fourths to $144,000. Only one Media Project grant was awarded, down from ten. The administration has also sought to lay off NEH workers, cancel grants, and divert funds to a National Garden of American Heroes, a presidential pet project.
This matters because the NEH is a key federal funder of humanities research, preservation, and public programs across the United States. The drastic reduction in grants signals a fundamental shift in government support for scholarship and cultural heritage, threatening the work of historians, archivists, and educators. The cuts also reflect a broader ideological battle over which subjects and narratives receive public funding, as seen in the elimination of diverse media projects and the prioritization of a monument project honoring figures from Christopher Columbus to Alex Trebek. The future of the agency itself remains uncertain under the current administration.