A federal district court judge ruled that the mass termination of 1,400 NEH grants last year by DOGE was “in violation of the First Amendment, in violation of the equal protection component of the Fifth Amendment, and without statutory authority.” Two court cases, which were consolidated and represent a class action, were brought by the Authors Guild and a group of individual NEH grantees as well as a coalition of the American Council of Learned Societies, the American Historical Association, and the Modern Language Association of America.
In a statement, Authors Guild CEO Mary Rasenberger said, “Today’s ruling makes clear that no administration—regardless of its priorities—is free to defy the statutory purposes of federal agencies … or to cancel grants based on viewpoint discrimination. Not only did DOGE have no authority to cancel the grants, it used an AI chatbot to invent pretextual reasons to do it anyway.”
But will grantees get their money? The Authors Guild statement says, given that the administration has ignored other judicial orders, it’s unclear whether the government will pay out the money owed under those grants. The court said its decision addresses only “the legality of the Government’s decision” but that it does not “require the immediate payment of grant funds” or “adjudicate any contractual entitlement to money.” Legal action to compel payment of grant funds may need to be pursued separately, perhaps in the Court of Federal Claims.
Jane Friedman has spent her entire career working in the publishing industry, with a focus on business reporting and author education. Established in 2015, her newsletter The Bottom Line provides nuanced market intelligence to thousands of authors and industry professionals; in 2023, she was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World.
Jane’s expertise regularly features in major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, NPR, The Today Show, Wired, The Guardian, Fox News, and BBC. Her book, The Business of Being a Writer, Second Edition (The University of Chicago Press), is used as a classroom text by many writing and publishing degree programs. She reaches thousands through speaking engagements and workshops at diverse venues worldwide, including NYU’s Advanced Publishing Institute, Frankfurt Book Fair, and numerous MFA programs.
