Judge issues temporary injunction against Trump administration cancellation of humanities grants

Washington – A judge of the New York district court published a preliminary injunction Friday evening, stopping the mass cancellation of the national endowment for the humanities subsidies to the members of the Guild of the authors on the grounds that their first amendments were violated.

Judge Colleen McMahon of the American district court of the South District of New York stayed the mass cancellations of subsidies previously granted to the members of the Guild and ordered that the funds associated with subsidies are not rebuilt until a trial on the substance of the case is held.

By making his decision, the judge said that “the defendants put an end to the subsidies on the basis of the point of view perceived by the recipients, in order to stimulate these points of view on the ideas market. This is the most obvious by the quotation of the end of the advice of decrees prior to the realization of the radical biological truth “and” radical programs … dei “and more” biological truth “.

One of the subsidies was to a professor who wrote a book on the re -emergence of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1970s and 1980s. On a spreadsheet entitled “Copy of Active Grants”, the government reported the work as linked to the efforts of diversity, equity and inclusion, McMahon wrote.

The judge said that several other history projects on the spreadsheet have also been canceled in part because of their link with the subjects linked to DEI.

“Far from this court to deny the right of administration to concentrate the priorities of the NEH on American history and exceptionalism as the year of our semi-printing approaches,” said McMahon. “Such a refocusing is generally a question of discretion of the agency. But the agency’s discretion does not include discretion to violate the first amendment. No more than the government does not give the right to modify history. ”

McMahon said that some of the beneficiaries had lost subsidies simply because they had received them during the Biden administration.

The guild filed a collective appeal in May against the NEH and the Government Ministry of efficiency for having dismissed the subsidies which had already been affected by the Congress.

The human science group trial said that DOGE has brought the basic work of the humanities councils “to an emergency stop this spring when it ended its subsidy program.

The trial was among several among human groups and historic, research and library associations to try to end the financing cuts and the dissolution of agencies and federal organizations.

McMahon noted that its injunction is closely adapted “to maintain the status quo until we can decide if the complainants are entitled to ultimate relief. He doesn’t do anything more. “

The judge rejected a request for temporary injunction of the American Council of learned companies, as well as several of their complaints in the trial. Their case included the American Historical Association and the modern linguistic association.