DOGE's NEH Grant Cancellations Were Illegal Viewpoint Discrimination
Source: Shaun Ossei-Owusu. "Trump legal news: DOGE’s most absurd abuses against DEI were exposed in court.." May 14, 2026. slate.com
The Gist
The author argues that Trump's DOGE program illegally canceled over 1,400 research grants by targeting projects about diversity and minorities, using unqualified young employees with no authority to make these decisions. A federal judge ruled this was unconstitutional discrimination, making Trump's team guilty of the same unaccountable, merit-ignoring behavior they claim to oppose in government.
Conclusion
The Trump administration's mass cancellation of National Endowment for the Humanities grants through DOGE was unconstitutional and hypocritical, violating First Amendment, equal protection, and due process rights while embodying the very problems they claim to oppose
Premises
- Two unqualified DOGE employees with no relevant experience canceled over 1,400 NEH grants worth $100+ million without individualized review or due process
- The cancellations were based on viewpoint discrimination, using spreadsheets to flag grants containing terms like 'diversity,' 'Indigenous,' 'BIPOC,' and 'social justice'
- Only Biden-era grants were reviewed for termination while Trump-era grants were left untouched, showing partisan targeting
- The process violated equal protection by systematically discriminating against grants involving racial minorities, women, and non-Western subjects while preserving grants about Western European topics
- DOGE officials had no legal authority to cancel NEH grants in the first place, creating an 'ultra vires' constitutional problem
- A federal judge found the entire process unconstitutional in a 143-page ruling documenting these violations
- The administration exhibited the same problems they criticize in the 'deep state': unaccountable actors, merit displaced by politics, and ideological discrimination
Assumptions
- Federal grant processes should follow established legal procedures and due process requirements
- Viewpoint discrimination in government funding violates the First Amendment
- Government officials must have proper legal authority to make decisions affecting federal programs
- Equal treatment regardless of race, ethnicity, or subject matter is constitutionally required
- Hypocrisy undermines the credibility of political arguments about institutional reform