Trump Appointees Reshape NEH with Conservative Agenda
Since Donald Trump assumed the presidency, the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has come under conservative leadership. In October 2025, Trump dismissed all but four members of the 26-member National Council on the Humanities, keeping Keegan Callanan, William English, Matthew Rose, and Russell Berman. Callanan, English, and Rose are known for their opposition to diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. With their guidance, the NEH granted $10 million each to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Foundation for Excellence in Higher Education. Additionally, the council sanctioned $2 million for Trump’s proposed archway in D.C. and a $10.4 million grant to the Tikvah Fund, circumventing usual review protocols. The NEH's workforce has been reduced by more than half, resulting in the termination of 97% of grants.
Key facts
- Trump fired all but four members of the National Council on the Humanities in October 2025.
- Keegan Callanan, William English, and Matthew Rose are conservative academics retained on the council.
- Callanan read N.W.A. lyrics aloud during a 2024 meeting to oppose a hip-hop education grant.
- The NEH awarded $10 million each to UNC-Chapel Hill's civics school and FEHE in January 2025.
- Callanan is friends with UNC civics school dean Jed Atkins; Rose's brother teaches there.
- FEHE has funded Rose's Morningside Institute, providing over two-thirds of its revenue between 2022 and 2024.
- The council approved $2 million for Trump's archway and $10.4 million for the Tikvah Fund.
- A federal judge ruled the earlier cancellation of 97% of NEH grants illegal.
Entities
Artists
- N.W.A.
Institutions
- National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)
- National Council on the Humanities
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Civic Life and Leadership
- Foundation for Excellence in Higher Education (FEHE)
- Morningside Institute
- Tikvah Fund
- Duke University
- Middlebury College
- Georgetown University
- Stanford University
- Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
- Paul E. Singer Foundation
- U.S. Treasury Department
- U.S. Supreme Court
- North Carolina General Assembly
- The Assembly
- The Washington Post
- The New York Times
- Chicago Tribune
- Department of Government Efficiency
Locations
- United States
- North Carolina
- Washington, D.C.
- Duke University (Durham, North Carolina)
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Chapel Hill, North Carolina)
- Middlebury College (Middlebury, Vermont)
- Georgetown University (Washington, D.C.)
- Stanford University (Stanford, California)
- Columbia University (New York City, New York)