Press Releases

Authors Guild Files Class Action Lawsuit to Reverse Unlawful NEH Grant Terminations

Guild News

May 12, 2025

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Today, May 12, 2025, the Authors Guild and a group of scholars and writers filed a class action lawsuit (PDF) against the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), its leadership, and officials within the Department of Government Efficiency (“DOGE”) for unlawfully terminating millions of dollars in committed grants from funds appropriated by Congress for the programs. The lawsuit was filed in federal court in New York City and is brought on behalf of all individuals nationwide who were awarded NEH grants that were cancelled without cause in April. The proposed class covered by the claims includes individual grantees under the Public Scholar, Fellowship, Summer Stipend, and other NEH programs. The plaintiffs are represented by the Washington, D.C., law firm Fairmark Partners, LLP.

As the authorizing legislation for the NEH and NEA states, “It is vital to a democracy to honor and preserve its multicultural artistic heritage as well as support new ideas, and therefore it is essential to provide financial assistance to its artists and the organizations that support their work.” For nearly sixty years, NEH awards have provided vital funding for the humanities and arts in the United States, making it possible for historians, biographers, filmmakers, teachers, librarians, social scientists, and numerous others to take on projects from which our entire society benefits. Many books that have increased our learning as a society would not have been written if not for NEH grants.

In early April, the NEH abruptly sent a letter informing grantees that their grants were being terminated because the agency was repurposing its funds “in furtherance of the President’s agenda.” It cited various recent executive orders that have nothing to do with the agency’s congressionally defined mission, including Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing and Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.

By canceling current grants, the administration has left many grant recipients stranded mid-project, with the completion and publication of the planned books now in question, even though individual grant recipients were required to forego other employment or compensation opportunities during the term of their NEH award. Grantees were given no opportunity to appeal.

The Trump administration announced that the cancelled grant funds, amounting to tens of millions of dollars, would be diverted from more than a thousand projects throughout the country that bring history and learning to Americans where they live to a single sculpture garden, the National Garden of American Heroes, at a yet to be determined location that most Americans likely will never be able to visit, as well as celebrating America’s 250th anniversary in July 2026.

The administration’s actions in canceling the grants were unlawful. The administration is not free to unilaterally cancel funds that Congress has appropriated for a specific purpose—here, humanities funding. Nor can it simply refuse to pay out funds that the government has promised to grantees—many of whom have made significant investments and major decisions in reliance on that promise—especially without any individualized consideration or opportunity for appeal.

President of the Authors Guild W. Ralph Eubanks said, “To suddenly redirect congressionally-appropriated funds away from hundreds of scholars and creators midway through their projects—leaving them financially vulnerable and professionally compromised—isn’t just administratively questionable, it’s morally indefensible. Many recipients structured their entire lives around these commitments, forgoing other opportunities and making significant personal investments.”

The Guild’s lawsuit asks the court to find, among other things, that these actions are a violation of the Administrative Procedure Act, the Constitution’s guarantees of the separation of powers and the freedom of expression, and that the actions exceed the congressionally granted authority of agencies. The lawsuit seeks to set aside the mass termination of grants, restore the funds to which the grantees are entitled, and require the government to operate the NEH consistent with Congress’s intent.

One NEH public scholar reported. “The NEH was my sole source of income for the second half of the funding period. The sudden termination of the award has caused severe financial and professional harm.” She describes how she “had to take on additional teaching responsibilities (two courses) during the 2024–25 academic year to partially replace the lost income from the terminated NEH fellowship. These courses are paid at a lower rate than the NEH would have provided, resulting in a net income loss while increasing my labor.” She adds that as a result, “I am experiencing housing strain, as I had budgeted my rent based on the original NEH award timeline.”

Dr. Nicole D. Jenkins, who has a contract with Princeton University Press for her ethnographic book-in-process, expressed great concern for her career stability, “I am scheduled to go up for tenure in February 2026, during the original grant period. The abrupt termination has significantly harmed my ability to complete this research, impacted my tenure timeline, and led to reputational, financial, and professional damage.”

For more information, please contact:
Jamie Crooks at Fairmark Partners: jamie@fairmarklaw.com
Raluca Albu at the Authors Guild: Ralbu@authorsguild.org