Federal Judge Rules DOGE Humanities Grants Terminations Unlawful

A federal judge ruled on May 7 that the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE’s) termination of hundreds of humanities grants last year was unconstitutional and involved “blatant” discrimination. In April 2025, the Trump administration axed more than 1,400 grants, amounting to more than $100 million in congressionally appropriated funds awarded to scholars, writers, research institutions, and other humanities organizations. The move was part of a whirlwind cost-cutting drive that tech billionaire Elon Musk was leading at DOGE as a “special government employee”—a role that is term-limited to 130 days. Musk departed that role after completing his term in May 2025. However, District Judge Colleen McMahon, ruling at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, said that the administration “engaged in blatant viewpoint discrimination,” ruling in consolidated cases brought by the American Council of Learned Societies, the Authors Guild, and others....