US Judge Blocks Donald Trump’s Move to Cancel Humanities Grants Over Free Speech Concerns: What To Know

US President Donald Trump is facing resistance from the federal courts over his policies. After multiple injuctions against his birthright citizenship executive order, a district court judge in New York has now issued a preliminary injunction to halt the mass cancellation of National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) grants awarded to members of the Authors Guild.

The judge Colleen McMahon of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled that the cancellations violated their First Amendment rights.

Judge Stays Cancellation Of NEH Grants

Judge ordered a stay on the cancellation of the grants and directed that any associated funds not be reallocated until a trial on the merits can be conducted. The injunction maintains the status quo, preserving grant funding for recipients while the case proceeds.

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In her decision, Judge McMahon stated that “the defendants terminated the grants based on the recipients’ perceived viewpoint, in an effort to drive such views out of the marketplace of ideas.” She pointed to termination notices citing executive orders aimed at combating what the government described as “Radical Indoctrination,” “Radical … DEI Programs,” and promoting “Biological Truth.”

Specific NEH Grants Targeted Due to DEI Connections

One affected grant was awarded to a professor working on a book about the resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1970s and 1980s. The government flagged this project in a spreadsheet titled “Copy of NEH Active Grants” as linked to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts, according to the judge’s opinion.

Judge McMahon noted that multiple other history projects listed on the spreadsheet were also canceled in part because of their association with DEI-related subjects.

DEI Discretion Doesn’t Mean It Would Violate First Ammendment: Judge

The judge recognized the government’s prerogative to refocus NEH priorities, especially with the nation’s semiquincentennial approaching, saying: “Far be it from this Court to deny the right of the Administration to focus NEH priorities on American history and exceptionalism.”

However, she emphasized that “agency discretion does not include discretion to violate the First Amendment. Nor does [it] give the Government the right to edit history.”

McMahon further observed that some grantees had their funding revoked simply because their grants were awarded during the Biden administration.

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