Three humanities-focused organizations—the American Historical Association, the Modern Language Association, and the American Council of Learned Societies—have filed a lawsuit against the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) over the dismantling of the NEH. Filed on May 1 in the Southern District of New York, the suit seeks to reverse cuts made in April by the Trump administration, which slashed $65 million from the NEH's $210 million budget and fired approximately 65 percent of its staff. The plaintiffs argue the NEH has been reduced to a shell of its former self, and they name as defendants NEH acting chairman Michael McDonald, DOGE acting administrator Amy Gleason, and DOGE employees Nate Cavanaugh and Justin Fox, who allegedly demanded lists of open grants and terminated most of them without legal authority.
This lawsuit matters because it challenges the legality of executive actions that threaten the core federal funding mechanism for humanities research, education, and cultural programs across the United States. The NEH, established in 1965 with bipartisan support, has distributed over $6 billion in grants over six decades, supporting libraries, museums, community initiatives, and scholars nationwide. If the cuts stand, the plaintiffs warn that hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer-funded projects will be abandoned, and the federal government's long-standing commitment to the humanities will be effectively dismantled. The case also raises broader questions about the authority of DOGE, a new agency, to override congressional appropriations and terminate grants without statutory power.