SouthernWorldwide.com – A federal judge has declared the Trump administration’s abrupt cancellation of humanities grants to three prominent scholarly organizations as “unlawful” and “unconstitutional.”
The ruling came after the Department of Government and Efficiency, or DOGE, moved in April 2025 to terminate numerous grants that had already been approved by Congress. These grants were intended for organizations such as the American Council of Learned Societies, the American Historical Association, and the Modern Language Association of America.
These organizations subsequently filed a lawsuit in May 2025, seeking to overturn DOGE’s decision. Their argument centered on the executive branch lacking the constitutional authority to impede, alter, or delay the allocation of congressionally appropriated funds based on presidential policy preferences.
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In her ruling on Thursday, U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon stated that the grant terminations violated the First Amendment, the equal protection clause of the Fifth Amendment, and were undertaken without statutory authority. Judge McMahon emphasized that DOGE officials did not possess the legal power to enact these grant cancellations and therefore prohibited the administration from proceeding with them.
This case was combined with a similar lawsuit brought by The Authors Guild, whose members were also recipients of grant funding.
The extensive 143-page decision revealed that DOGE staff admitted to not reviewing any grant applications or supporting documentation before flagging them for termination. Furthermore, the staff reportedly utilized ChatGPT to generate justifications for these terminations, often citing diversity, equity, and inclusion-related concerns.
Judge McMahon’s opinion highlighted that the DOGE staff leading this initiative were young, in their 20s, and lacked significant experience, particularly in areas related to the humanities.
