A federal judge in the United States has ruled that the termination of hundreds of humanities grants by the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) was unconstitutional and discriminatory. District Judge Colleen McMahon said the cuts, which affected more than 1,400 grants worth over $100m, violated free speech and equal protection rights under the US Constitution.
The grants, awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to scholars, writers and research institutions, were cancelled in April 2025 as part of a cost-cutting drive led by billionaire Elon Musk. Judge McMahon found that Doge targeted grants based on race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation and other protected characteristics, calling it “blatant viewpoint discrimination”.
The judge also noted that Doge lacked legal authority to terminate the grants and used artificial intelligence tool ChatGPT to justify its decisions. “The government cannot escape liability for DOGE’s work by scapegoating ChatGPT,” she wrote.
Critics have accused former President Donald Trump of targeting cultural and educational institutions that he deems liberal or “anti-American”. The ruling is a setback for his administration’s efforts to cut federal funding for diversity initiatives, historical projects and other humanities programmes.
