By Blessing Nweke
A federal judge in New York has ruled that the Trump administration’s cancellation of more than $100 million in humanities grants was unconstitutional, delivering a major setback to efforts by the Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE, to slash federal funding tied to diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon permanently blocked the administration from terminating more than 1,400 grants approved by Congress through the National Endowment for the Humanities. The ruling sided with The Authors Guild and several academic associations that sued after their grants were canceled.
McMahon said the government violated both the First Amendment and equal protection rights under the Fifth Amendment by targeting projects viewed as supporting DEI initiatives. She wrote that officials engaged in “unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination” by canceling grants because of perceived political viewpoints.
The judge also sharply criticized DOGE’s reliance on artificial intelligence, including ChatGPT, to identify projects for elimination. In one example cited in the ruling, an anthology titled “In the Shadow of the Holocaust: Short Fiction by Jewish Writers from the Soviet Union” was reportedly labeled as DEI-related by the AI system.
“ChatGPT was the Government’s chosen instrument,” McMahon wrote, adding that the use of AI did not excuse unconstitutional conduct.
The lawsuit was supported by organizations including the American Historical Association and the Modern Language Association, which praised the ruling as a defense of free inquiry and academic freedom.
The White House and the Department of Justice did not immediately comment, and it remains unclear whether the administration will appeal the decision.
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