Major Update in our NEH Lawsuit
Discovery in NEH Lawsuit Reveals How Humanities Grants Were Cancelled
On March 6, 2026, the American Historical Association and our co-plaintiffs filed a motion for summary judgment. Depositions and records obtained through the discovery process detail the role of DOGE staff in cancelling humanities grants, and how both the Federal Equal Protection Clause of the 5th Amendment and the Federal Records Acts were violated in the process. These findings underscore why this case matters, not only for historians and educators, but also for the future of public support for the humanities. These records document this moment for the historical record.
"When DOGE Unleashed ChatGPT on the Humanities"
On March 7, 2026, New York Times reporter Jennifer Schuessler covered newly released discovery in the case, which reveals how humanities grants were cancelled during efforts to dismantle the agency.
Key Discovery Documents
Exhibits
Exhibit 1: Transcript of video-recorded deposition of Justin Fox, January 28, 2026
Exhibit 2: Transcript of video-recorded deposition of Nathan Cavanaugh, January 23, 2026
Exhibit 3: Transcript of video-recorded deposition of Michael McDonald, January 30, 2026
Exhibit 4: February 7 email, subject: "NEH EO Award Review Spreadsheet"
Exhibit 5: April 1 email correspondence, subject: "RE: NEH Grants Termination"
Exhibit 6: Spreadsheet with NEH staff annotations
Exhibit 7: A list of ACLS Plaintiffs’ and their members’ grants that were terminated
Exhibit 8: March 13 email, subject: "historical review of grants"
Exhibit 9: “Detection List” created by DOGE's Justin Fox with keywords like “gay,” “BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color),” “indigenous,” “tribal,” “melting pot,” “equality,” and similar terms, to identify grants that he dubbed the “Craziest Grants” and “Other Bad Grants.”
Exhibit 10: April 3 email, subject: "Crazy grants"
Exhibit 11: Spreadsheet (AR_000024) compiled by Justin Fox. He submitted the description of 1,162 grants in the NEH database to ChatGPT with the following prompt: “Does the following relate at all to DEI? Respond factually in less than 120 characters. Begin with ‘Yes.’ or ‘No.’ followed by a brief explanation. Do not use ‘this initiative’ or ‘this description’ in your response.”
Exhibit 12: Spreadsheet compiled by Justin Fox including "DEI Rationale" from ChatGPT. Fox designated grants as "NEH identified DEI involvement" based on Exhibit 6, in which NEH staff annotated grants as low/medium/high or N/A for "DEI Involvement."
Exhibit 13: March 13 email, subject: "NEH Grants"
Exhibit 14: Spreadsheet compiled by Michael McDonald and Adam Wolfson recommending "grants to keep"
Exhibit 15: March email correspondence, subject: "Re: TO REVIEW Active Grants"
Exhibit 16: March email correspondence, subject: "Re: TO REVIEW Active Grants"
Exhibit 17: March email correspondence, subject: "Re: TO REVIEW Active Grants"
Exhibit 18: Email from NEH Chief Information Officer to Dartmouth-affiliated grantees: "I'm terribly sorry to tell you that DOGE did indeed cancel your award. NEH staff, like myself, didn't realize it was happening."
Exhibit 19: Email from NEH Director of the Division of Research Programs: “[...] we have not been able to reinstate the five NEH-JUSFC fellowships terminated by DOGE (per Acting Chairman Michael McDonald)."
Exhibit 20: NEH termination notice
Exhibit 21: Spreadsheet is taken from AR_000024, with some non-pertinent columns hidden for readability purposes.
Exhibit 22: April 3 email, subject: "Terminated Grants"
Exhibit 23: April email correspondence, subject: "RE: NEH Grants Termination"
Exhibit 24: Grants Implicated by Equal Protection Claim
Exhibit 25: List of terminated grants
Exhibit 26: Transcript of video-recorded deposition of Adam Wolfson, January 29, 2026
Exhibit 27: March 12 email, subject: "NEH | Biden Grants"
Exhibit 28: Spreadsheet titled "Biden Grants"
Exhibit 29: "Talking Points for 4/9/25 NCH [National Council on the Humanities] Meeting"
Exhibit 30: March 17 email, subject: "NEH Review"
Exhibit 31: This spreadsheet is taken from US-000061583, with some non-pertinent columns hidden for readability purposes.
Exhibit 32: Spreadsheet containing a compiled list of all grants “to cancel” and all grants “to keep."
Exhibit 33: Defendants' Responses and Objections to Plaintiffs' First Set of Requests for Admissions
Exhibit 34: Text messages between Adam Wolfson and Michael McDonald
Exhibit 35: Termination grant notice
Exhibit 36: Spreadsheet, "Contracts and Grants: Terminations"
Exhibit 37: Notice of Grant Termination document
Exhibit 38: Notice of Grant Termination document
Exhibit 39: Spreadsheet, "NEH Grants - To Cancel: Organizations (4/1/2025 action date)"
Documents and Declarations
Document 249: Plaintiffs' Statement of Undisputed Material Facts in Support of Motion for Summary Judgment
Document 250: Declaration of Joy Connolly, president of the American Council of Learned Societies
Document 251: Declaration of Sarah Weicksel, executive director of the American Historical Association
Document 252: Declaration of Paula Krebs, executive director of the Modern Language Association
Document 253: Declaration of Jason Rhody, Senior Director of Engagement Strategy at the Modern Language Association and former NEH staff member (2003-2016)
Document 254: Declaration of Mattie Burkert, member of the Modern Language Association
Document 255: Declaration of Laura Morreale, member of the American Historical Association
Document 256: Declaration of Santiago Schnell, Provost at Dartmouth College
Document 257: Declaration of Joseph T. Walsh, Jr., Vice President for Economic Development and Innovation at the University of Illinois System
Document 258: Declaration of Julie M. Weise, member of the American Historical Association
Deposition Videos
Deposition of Nathan Cavanaugh
As part of a lawsuit brought by the American Council of Learned Societies, American Historical Association, and Modern Language Association, Nathan Cavanaugh was deposed on January 23, 2026 about his role (as a political appointee at the General Services Administration and DOGE team member) in the termination of NEH grants.
Deposition of Justin Fox
As part of a lawsuit brought by the American Council of Learned Societies, American Historical Association, and Modern Language Association, Justin Fox was deposed on January 28, 2026, about his role (as senior advisor to Stephen Ehikian, Acting Administrator and Deputy Administrator of the General Services Administration, and DOGE team member) in the termination of NEH grants.
Deposition of Michael McDonald
As part of a lawsuit brought by the American Council of Learned Societies, American Historical Association, and Modern Language Association, Michael McDonald was deposed on January 30, 2026, about his role (as National Endowment for the Humanities General Counsel and Acting Chair of the NEH) in the termination of NEH grants.
Deposition of Adam Wolfson
As part of a lawsuit brought by the American Council of Learned Societies, American Historical Association, and Modern Language Association, Adam Wolfson was deposed on January 29, 2026, about his role (as NEH Assistant Chair for Programs) in the termination of NEH grants.
Support AHA Advocacy
The American Historical Association provides leadership for the discipline, defends academic freedom, and promotes the critical role of historical thinking in public life. The AHA, in collaboration with our colleagues at the American Council of Learned Societies and the Modern Language Association, have filed a lawsuit in response to the illegal dismantling of the National Endowment for the Humanities. We need your support for this and our ongoing advocacy efforts at the federal and state levels. Please join join or donate today.
The NEH is vital to the American public’s engagement with the vibrant landscape of humanities education and research. We remain committed to pursuing all legal options to ensure that the work of the NEH and its staff continues to connect Americans with the history and culture that is so central to civic engagement.
~Sarah Weicksel, American Historical Association
The overall dismantling of the NEH will have dire consequences for the American Historical Association and its more than 130 affiliates. The NEH does more than fund the work of the thousands of historians who belong to the AHA and these affiliated societies. The agency is, in essence, the convener of humanities disciplines. Because of its resources, the professionalism and intellect of its staff, and its prestige, the NEH regularly convenes representatives of scholarly associations, higher education institutions, state humanities councils, museums, and other organizations. We learn not only from NEH staff, but from one another in ways that are impossible through publications or even online.
~James Grossman, American Historical Association
As the agency embodying public investment in the humanities, the NEH is uniquely positioned to lead public-private partnerships in support of the humanities on a national scale. . . . As no other foundation or organization does, they [NEH staff] have knowledge of the many types of institutions of higher education in the US where work in the humanities takes place: e.g. community colleges, regional comprehensive universities, liberal arts colleges, universities."
~Joy Connolly, American Council of Learned Societies
The loss of the NEH as an institution will harm higher education in the United States. The NEH represents the only democratic, open funding processes in the country for humanities scholars. . . .The significant loss of staffing at the NEH will also produce harm to the humanities in the US. NEH staff members are resources for faculty members, associations, researchers, and public humanities bodies all over the country. . . . This loss of institutional knowledge, the loss of data-gathering, loss of support for local programming and for individual research projects is a loss from which it is hard to imagine how the country will recover.
~Paula Krebs, Modern Language Association
For the Press
If you are a member of the media and would like to submit a request for a referral or interview, please email press@historians.org.
Please provide any pertinent deadlines and we will do our best to accommodate your request. The AHA can find you a historian for any topic, and assists with dozens of inquiries each year.
About the Lawsuit
Taking Action to Save the NEH
The American Council of Learned Societies, the American Historical Association, and the Modern Language Association have filed a lawsuit in federal district court, seeking to reverse the recent actions to devastate the National Endowment for the Humanities.
FAQs Regarding the Lawsuit
This document offers information related to the lawsuit filed by the ACLS, AHA, and MLA, opposing the illegal dismantling of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Tracking Federal Actions Affecting History
The AHA is tracking information on federal actions and their impact on history and education.
Timeline & Latest Updates
February 13, 2026
Filed a motion for spoliation sanctions related to the deletion of Signal and text messages.
August 1, 2025
AHA, ACLS, & MLA filed an appeal regarding the court’s ruling that we did not have standing to pursue our program-related claims, which challenged the dismantling of NEH funding programs and reduction of NEH staff. We will simultaneously continue with termination-related claims (Counts VIII and IX), which assert that DOGE acted without appropriate authority in terminating awards.
July 25, 2025
Judge Colleen McMahon issues a decision for the Authors Guild, putting a stay on the cancellations of the NEH's awarded grants.
July 2, 2025
The plaintiffs submit a brief contending that "CASA does not affect the Court’s ability to award ACLS Plaintiffs’ requested relief."
June 27, 2025
The judge requests the parties "provide the court with their views about how the Supreme Court's June 27, 2025 opinion in Trump v. CASA impacts the requests for relief in these cases and the ability of this court to issue relief with respect to any specific discrete aspect of the complaints."
June 13, 2025
The plaintiffs file a combined reply in support of the motion for a preliminary injunction and in opposition to the defendants' motion to dismiss.
June 5, 2025
The defendants file a motion in opposition to the plaintiffs' request for a preliminary injunction.
May 14, 2025
The American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS), the American Historical Association (AHA), and the Modern Language Association (MLA) filed a motion for a preliminary injunction to enjoin the unlawful dismantling of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).
Read Joy Connolly’s (ACLS) Declaration
May 1, 2025
The American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS), the American Historical Association (AHA), and the Modern Language Association (MLA) filed a lawsuit in federal district court, seeking to reverse the recent actions to devastate the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), including the elimination of grant programs, staff, and entire divisions and programs.
April 4, 2025
The American Historical Association releases a statement condemning the evisceration of the National Endowment for the Humanities, as the current administration’s Department of Government Efficiency has terminated hundreds of grants and put 75% of staff on leave. “The NEH and the grants it administers nourish our democracy through research, education, preservation, institutional capacity building, and public programming in the humanities for the benefit of the American people,” the statement reads. “This frontal attack on the nation’s public culture is unpatriotic, anti-American, and unjustified."
April 2, 2025
The NEH terminates over 1,200 grants, including the AHA's Africa in World History and Changes Across the Land teacher institutes.
March 12, 2025
Shelly C. Lowe, the chair of the NEH, leaves her position “at the direction of President Trump." Michael McDonald, the agency’s general counsel, is appointed the acting chair.