Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is reportedly recommending extreme cuts to staff and programs at the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), the New York Times reported Tuesday evening.
NEH employees were informed by managers on Tuesday morning of DOGE’s recommended reductions to the staff by as much as 70 to 80 percent of the organization’s 180 staffers, as well as the possible cancellation of all outstanding grants made under the Biden administration. Senior leadership is expected to provide more detailed plans.
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Only three weeks ago, the head of the NEH Shelly Lowe was forced to resign several months before the end of her four-year term; she was appointed under former President Biden. The agency is currently being led by interim director Michael McDonald, who also serves as its general counsel.
“DOGE is targeting a small federal agency that—with an annual appropriation that amounts to a rounding error in the U.S. budget—has a positive impact on every congressional district,” the National Humanities Alliance, a nationwide coalition of universities, museums, state councils, and cultural organizations advocating for the humanities, said in defense of the NEH in a statement on Tuesday.
“Cutting NEH funding directly harms communities in every state and contributes to the destruction of our shared cultural heritage,” it continues. “This puts unnecessary barriers in the way of the agency’s mission to distribute federal dollars to American communities.”
Founded in 1965, the NEH has awarded more than $6 billion in grants to museums, historical sites, universities, libraries, and related organizations. Through its grants, the NEH has long supported a variety of creative initiatives and projects.
Earlier this year, for instance, it announced its most recent round of recipients, including museums like the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, which totaled $26.6 million in funding. Its budget was $211 million last year.
The NEH was started under the same legislation as the National Endowment for the Arts, which offers offers financial assistance for projects, shows, and exhibitions that exude excellence; it is unclear, however, if the NEA will be impacted by similar cuts. In February, the NEA announced that it was ending a small grant program that supported underserved groups and communities.
This latest threat to the NEH comes as the entire staff at the Institute of Museum and Library Services was put on administrative leave by DOGE on Tuesday. These efforts are part of a larger restructuring program within the federal government since Trump took office for a second term as president.