@lmrhody
Deputy Director, GCDI, CUNY Graduate Center; Affiliated Faculty in Liberal Studies, Digital Humanities, Data Analysis and Visualization, Interactive Technology and Pedagogy. Areas: critical ai & data, libraries, text/image, feminism, poetry; lisarhody.com
Cavanaugh on first days leading DOGE’s small agencies team which targeted #NEH. Started in the “middle of February 2025.” He first met NEH staff on March 12. 1477 grant terminations sent out by DOGE on April 2. It typically takes 6-8 months to review an NEH grant.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=XY-Q...
I no longer have access to the data from when I was at NEH, but we did a deep comparison of the UK and the US across several agencies and we found the UK spends about 10x more per person on the humanities specifically. But both countries underspend quite a bit compared to other wealthier nations.
Here's a grant that is "justified" as DEI because it will use materials from an HBCU archive to create teaching materials for the university and local Durham community #NEH #DOGE
Here #NEH McDonald admits that he doesn't know how DOGE defined DEI or what they used to make their assessments. I can't imagine being so inept! He just let a group of 28 yo tech bros tell him what to think and do because the result is one he liked. Zero self respect. youtu.be/KiDcKST03Zk?...
The contrast makes this administration’s world view clear. They would rather bomb people and sacrifice troops than have to learn about and understand anyone different from them. It’s an agenda of ignorance and selfishness writ globally.
The entire budget of the NEH couldn’t buy more than three jets. The budget was tiny. And it was great ROI for the American people.
Curious to know what makes an #NEH grant "crazy" as opposed to "bad" in the eyes of #DOGE
youtu.be/6AprpPJ1Cmc?...
And now we learn that the acting NEH chair in fact recommended "that wherever the
'DEI Rationale' on the spreadsheet makes clear that there is no DEI component to the project, there is no justification for
canceling the project's funding and you should allow it to continue. youtu.be/pX5_27IKRIg?...
Michael McDonald, acting chair of NEH at the time & still its General Counsel, admitted in a deposition he knew of fewer than 6 grants being revoked in 20+ years, all for non-performance.
He co-founded the right-wing Center for Individual Rights, which files lawsuits > the Voting Rights Act. 2/2
Funding of these projects was awarded after a rigorous vetting process involving layers of scholarship. An NEH award is difficult to get, and @nehgov.bsky.social funding was less than 0.01% of federal budget. The "DOGE" boys, with no expertise and AI, destroyed the integrity of a 50-year-old agency.
Yes. And when you listen to him speak you realize that the only way he got to where he is can be attributed to affirmative action! I mean, this is an atty who has barely ever deposed witnesses, barely ever represented clients… but his career is based on just a couple cases! So predictable!!
🤬 this 🤬
“A documentary about Jewish women’s slave labor during the Holocaust? [CharGPT said to axe the NEH grant cuz] The focus on gender risked “contributing to D.E.I. by amplifying marginalized voices.” ☠️☠️☠️ 🗃️
The article also points to the corruption of the selection process for new NEH grants.
My employer Canterbury Shaker Village lost a small NEH grant. I wrote it. I used words such as "equality" and "citizenship." The same words were used in CHATGPT to cancel grants.
The same words are in the nation's founding documents.
It was wrong and harmful - and quite possibly unlawful - to cut already approved NEH grants because Donald Trump hates "DEI."
But the way DOGE went about doing it was even dumber than you probably imagined.
They fed abstracts into ChatGPT and demanded an answer in fewer than 120 characters.
WOW! So apparently #NEH McDonald thinks it would be unfair to deny college applicants based on a keyword search of racial identities, but totally fine to deny grant applications on the basis of keyword searches on sex and race. youtu.be/KiDcKST03Zk?...
I’m a literary scholar not a legal scholar, but I am guessing bc they can claim ignorance? Dunno. But how do you prep a guy who has obviously been the beneficiary of hand outs his whole career?
Oh wait! It gets better: #NEH McDonald says that affirmative action “gives preference based on adherence to race…” or another group. He later says race is “immutable” but the practice is divisive and unfair. He says it creates a “caste” system, then can’t define it. youtu.be/KiDcKST03Zk?...
Here is #NEH chairman Michael McDonald unable to articulate what he means by “viewpoint discrimination” b/c what he means is “when *my* view is deemed inappropriate or wrong.” Eg. fine to discriminate against immigrants’ speech, just not his. youtu.be/KiDcKST03Zk?...
I think it is important to note that this is precisely an example of the “deep state” that Republicans have accused Democrats of demonstrating that every accusation is actually a confession. McDonald who started in 2003 admits he has wanted this for 23 years!
I have not been privy to any of this along the way, but from a distance I have witnessed your and @jasonrhody.bsky.social ‘s careful, detailed, committed efforts fighting for justice and transparency in the destruction of public investment in the humanities. I am so proud to be an #MLA member today
Watching deposition video now Here is current NEH Chairman Michael McDonald describing his early career at a legal organization that worked to strike down affirmative action under the guise of constitutional conservatism: a term he either refuses or is unable to define. #NEH youtu.be/KiDcKST03Zk?...
All of the spreadsheets discussed in the testimony can be found on the MLA’s website. This was listed as exhibit 4 in the discovery materials. #NEH #NEHODH. Apparently giving fair access to resources to colleges and universities with historically less public funding is now DEI.
Prompt asking ChatGPT to classify a grant description as DEI with yes or no and 120 character justification. Response reads: Yes, DHRIFT aims to provide equitable access to technical training and pedagogical support in digital humanities, addressing inequities in distribution of resources.
If you had a grant cancelled, I really recommend you look at the spreadsheet the DOGE bros created with ChatGPT to determine if a grant was DEI. Here is what they said about mine: DHRIFT.org
In case you missed the article in the NY Times, here is a gift link www.nytimes.com/2026/03/07/a... #NEH #NEHODH #DH
Resharing for those who missed yesterday’s post. Correct me if I’m wrong, but this might be one of the only lawsuits where the DOGE bros have been deposed.
Read the motion for summary judgement and view discovery documents and videos at www.mla.org/Resources/Ad...
It's stunning how ignorant the DOGE bros were who were sent into agencies. Justin Fox cannot even articulate in his own words what his "present understanding of DEI" is: he can't even formulate a coherent sentence about it. I wouldn't hire him for basic tech support. #NEH
youtu.be/jomaMvItnew?...