A US federal judge has strongly criticized the mass cancellation of grants carried out by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), declaring the process unlawful, poorly designed, and deeply troubling. US District Judge Colleen McMahon issued a ruling on Thursday that blocks the Trump administration from enforcing the terminations, which targeted grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).
Judge's Ruling Highlights Procedural Failures
In her decision, Judge McMahon wrote, "There can be no serious dispute that the review process implemented by DOGE did not conform to, or even resemble, NEH's ordinary grant-review process." The court found that DOGE staff lacked proper authority to make the decisions and that the terminations ignored established procedures. The judge further concluded that protected characteristics were improperly used during the review process, making the terminations discriminatory in practice.
Judge McMahon stated, "Treating Black civil-rights history, Jewish testimony about the Holocaust, the oft-forgotten Asian American experience, the shameful treatment of the children of Native tribes, or the mere mention of a woman as a marker of lack of merit or wastefulness is not lawful." She also expressed concern over cuts to Holocaust studies projects, noting that deeming a project about Jewish women disfavored because it centered on Jewish cultures and female voices was deeply troubling, especially at a time when antisemitism has reemerged.
Background of the Case
The ruling follows challenges by several non-profit organizations that argued the grant cancellations undermined humanities research and ignored Congress's intent. They welcomed the decision as an important defense of cultural and academic work. The case originated after Donald Trump returned to the White House and empowered Elon Musk to lead federal cost-cutting through DOGE, along with Ohio Republican Vivek Ramaswamy. Agencies were instructed to suspend diversity-related programs and staff.
Court documents revealed that two DOGE employees, Justin Fox and Nate Cavanaugh, identified grants for cancellation using keyword filters such as "DEI," "Equity," "Inclusion," and "LGBTQ." Cavanaugh acknowledged the approach was blunt but defended the broader aim of reducing the federal deficit. When asked if he regretted that people lost important income, Cavanaugh replied, "No. I think it was more important to reduce the federal deficit from $2 trillion to close to zero." However, he admitted that the deficit was not reduced. Neither Fox nor Cavanaugh had prior government experience before joining DOGE.
