The U.S. Senate has confirmed Mary Anne Carter as chair of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) by a 53–43 party-line vote, returning the same political operative to the post she held during Trump’s first term. Carter, who has no professional arts experience and previously worked for the Heritage Foundation (author of Project 2025), was nominated in May amid a tumultuous period when the Trump administration sought to defund the NEA, senior leaders left en masse, and hundreds of arts organizations had promised grants cut or delayed.
This appointment matters because it places a controversial figure with a record of Republican political support at the helm of a federal agency that distributes critical funding to arts organizations nationwide, many of which rely on NEA grants for survival. The confirmation comes as the NEA faces ongoing threats of budget cuts, partisan pressure, and a lack of transparency, with arts advocates warning that anything less than the Senate’s proposed $207 million would jeopardize programs in rural communities and hundreds of counties without private investment. Carter’s tenure is likely to shape the agency’s priorities, including its push to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary in 2026.