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Hannah Hethmon, Communications Manager, Federation of State Humanities Councils (hhethmon@statehumanities.org)
Federation of State Humanities and Oregon Humanities File Motion for Summary Judgment in Case Challenging Mass Terminations of Humanities Council Grants by NEH and DOGE
The lawsuit against the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Department of Government Efficiency seeks to void unlawful mass terminations of humanities councils’ grants and enjoin NEH from again violating the Constitution and NEH Statutes.
April 18, 2026 – On April 17, the Federation of State Humanities Councils (Federation) and Oregon Humanities filed a motion for summary judgment in their case against the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) seeking to void the unlawful mass grant terminations and enjoin the agency from again violating the Constitution and NEH statutes. The lawsuit was filed in federal district court in Oregon. A ruling could come as early as this summer. (What is a motion for summary judgment?)
The lawsuit challenges the disruption of the congressionally established federal-state partnership between NEH and the 56 state and jurisdictional humanities councils.
In the motion, the plaintiffs—the Federation and Oregon Humanities—ask the judge to rule in their favor on multiple claims that are based upon separation of powers and the Administrative Procedures Act:
“The termination of funding to the Federal State Partnership bypassed express direction from Congress, ignored or flatly contradicted the stated purposes of the National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities Act of 1965 (NFAHA), and dispensed with the statutory procedures and due process afforded to the Councils.”
“When DOGE employees arrived at the agency armed with ChatGPT and no experience in government, the Acting Chair went along with their plan and expressed ‘no questions or concerns’ about DOGE’s myopic goal of ‘clawing back’ $322 million in humanities funding, including all the Congressionally mandated funding for the Councils.”
“Congress created the Councils and mandated the manner of their funding through statutory formulas within the NFAHA. This litigation rests entirely upon the NFAHA and the Constitution—not upon the terms or characteristics of individual grant agreements or contracts.”
On April 2, 2025, the 56 state and jurisdictional humanities councils received notice that their open NEH grants were terminated, effective immediately and without any opportunity for appeal. The sudden grant terminations and the continued lack of federal funding—councils have not received any federal funds since summer 2025—have forced humanities councils to lay off staff; cancel planned America 250th commemorations; suspend grant support for libraries, rural historical societies, and small-town nonprofits; cancel literacy events for schools and preschool families; halt workshops for veterans; and more.
“For more than 50 years, humanities councils have been fulfilling their mission to make humanities programming accessible to communities in every corner of the country,” said Phoebe Stein, president of the Federation. “This unprecedented disruption to the cultural infrastructure of our nation in such an important year has been devastating. Councils want to move beyond this crisis to focus on serving everyday Americans. We are eager for the swift resolution of this lawsuit and for funds to be returned to America’s communities as Congress intended.”
The Federation and Oregon Humanities are represented in this litigation by Anna Sortun of Tonkon Torp LLP in Portland, Oregon.
