In a photo from the archives dated Feb. 11, 2025, Tesla and SpaceX’s top executive Elon Musk delivers comments while alongside President Donald Trump at an executive order signing event inside the Oval Office, situated in the White House, Washington, D.C.Andrew Harnik/Getty Images, FILE
A federal judge declared on Thursday that Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency “openly employed” race, gender, along with other safeguarded traits to implement the biggest sweeping dismissal of federal funding in the history of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon pronounced the terminations illegitimate, determined that the DOGE personnel were not authorized to reach those judgments, and forbade the Trump administration from enacting the grant terminations.
“It is irrefutable that the review protocol put in place by DOGE failed to align with, or even bear resemblance to, NEH’s typical grant-review procedure,” Judge McMahon articulated.
In a photo from the archives dated Feb. 11, 2025, Tesla and SpaceX’s top executive Elon Musk delivers comments while alongside President Donald Trump at an executive order signing event inside the Oval Office, situated in the White House, Washington, D.C.Andrew Harnik/Getty Images, FILE
ABC News has previously covered the sworn testimonies at the core of this case, in which a pair of former DOGE employees detailed their utilization of ChatGPT plus DEI key phrases to execute extensive cutbacks. Judge McMahon condemned their deeds, resolving that DOGE “manifestly utilized shielded attributes as criteria for ending grants.”
“To regard Black civil-rights heritage, Jewish accounts of the Holocaust, the commonly neglected Asian American journey, the disgraceful treatment of the progeny of Native tribes, or simply referencing a woman as an indicator of insufficient merit or wastefulness is against the law,” she expressed.
Alluding to the present-day revival of antisemitism, Judge McMahon specifically mentioned the choice to cease funds for grants connected with the Holocaust due to its concentration on women who endured Nazi oppression.
“Amid a period in which the menace of antisemitism has resurfaced from dormancy, it is profoundly disturbing for our Government to view a project centered on Jewish women in an unfavorable light for emphasizing Jewish cultures and female expressions,” she commented.
The not-for-profit organizations that launched legal action over DOGE’s reduction of their funds are celebrating the determination, asserting that the court has validated the significance of humanities inquiry in a democratic society.
“The humanities are not merely supplemental. They represent how a democracy gains understanding. Today’s verdict marks progress toward respecting the intentions of Congress and our national objective—to pursue truth, attain self-awareness, and shape a superior future founded on this comprehension,” conveyed the American Council of Learned Societies President Joy Connolly in a public statement.
Upon President Donald Trump’s return to the presidential office this past January, he authorized Musk to diminish federal expenditures as a prominent advisor within the freshly formed DOGE. Promptly thereafter, all agencies received instruction to place DEI personnel on administrative leave and to discontinue relevant projects.
Justin Fox converses about federal government cutbacks enacted by DOGE during a deposition on Jan. 28, 2026.American Council of Learned Societies, the American Historical Association, and the Modern Language Association.
Throughout lengthy sworn statements made public in March, a pair of DOGE staff members — Justin Fox and Nate Cavanaugh — defended the undertaking to prune “ineffective organizations” as part of DOGE's endeavor to curtail the federal shortfall.
"Do you not regret that some individuals might have been deprived of vital earnings … needed for their subsistence?" an attorney questioned Cavanaugh regarding the nullifications of grants.
"No. I believe it held greater importance to lessen the federal imbalance from $2 trillion down nearly to zero," Cavanaugh stated.
Nathan Cavanaugh discusses Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) reductions during a sworn deposition on Jan. 23, 2026.American Council of Learned Societies, the American Historical Association, and the Modern Language Association.
"Did you bring down the federal shortfall?" the attorney inquired.
"No, we did not," Cavanaugh answered.
With experience originating from the technology and finance sectors, neither individual had been employed in governmental roles before associating with DOGE in the past year. Cavanaugh disclosed that their initial assessment of which grants could be eliminated was based on whether they comprised specific phrases — such as “DEI, DEIA, Equity, Inclusion, BIPAC, LGBTQ” — although the ultimate verdict concerning cutbacks rested with the director of each independent agency.
Sourse: abcnews.go.com