After news of President Trump possibly cancelling the NEA, the organization announced the cancellation of all approved and disbursed grants.
The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is a federal agency created to support the arts via grants and programs. On Friday, the NEA sent a mail that read: “The N.E.A. is updating its grantmaking policy priorities to focus funding on projects that reflect the nation’s rich artistic heritage and creativity as prioritized by the president. Consequently, we are terminating awards that fall outside these new priorities.”
The news comes just a day after US President Donald Trump announced that he will terminate all funds allocated to NEA, the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), and the Institute of Museum and Library Services in the upcoming budget for 2026. The actions of NEA mirror those of NEH, which had also cancelled all approved grants last month. The funds previously allocated to NEH were also diverted towards Trump’s own pet project.
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NEA announced that one of the new destinations of the funds would be museums focused on Black history and culture. However, the cancellation of grants would affect many crucial museums and projects, particularly those focusing on people of color. Meanwhile, many institutes have started fighting back against the new policies of the Trump regime. Already, 3 organizations benefiting from NEH have filed lawsuits against the revocation of grants. The Supreme Court has also issued a stay on the decision to terminate the IMLS. It must be noted that Trump had also tried to terminate NEH during his first presidency, but failed to do so.
