The Trump administration's 2026 budget proposal seeks to eliminate the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The proposal follows recent cuts that have already halted 2025 funding, slashed $65 million from the NEH's $210 million budget, and fired roughly 65% of its staff. A lawsuit filed by three humanities-focused organizations aims to reverse the cuts, and a judge has issued a temporary restraining order to block the dismantling of the IMLS. The Mellon Foundation has provided $15 million in emergency funding to state humanities councils to prevent closures.
This matters because eliminating these agencies would have immediate and severe repercussions for arts and humanities funding across the US, directly impacting nonprofits, state humanities councils, and cultural programs that rely on federal support. The proposal revives a failed attempt from Trump's first term, but now comes amid broader efforts by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to defund cultural institutions. The outcome could reshape the landscape of federal arts patronage and set a precedent for future cultural policy.