Judge rules government illegally canceled more than $100 million in humanities grants

Key Points:

• A federal judge in New York ruled that the Trump administration’s cancellation of over $100 million in humanities grants was unconstitutional, stating the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) lacked authority to end the funding.
• Judge Colleen McMahon permanently barred the administration from terminating the grants, citing violations of the First Amendment’s free speech protections and the Fifth Amendment’s equal protection clause, particularly targeting grants related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).
• The judge criticized the use of artificial intelligence, specifically ChatGPT, by government officials to classify and cut grants, rejecting the argument that AI use absolved the government of responsibility for unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination.
• Several scholarly and humanities organizations praised the ruling as a defense of academic freedom and Congress’s commitment to supporting the humanities, emphasizing the importance of preventing executive overreach in funding decisions.
• The grant cancellations followed Trump’s executive orders aimed at ending DEI programs and promoting cost efficiency, but the ruling affirmed that new administrations cannot suppress disfavored ideas through funding cuts.