Judge rules DOGE’s cuts to humanities grants were unconstitutional

U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon ruled that the U.S. DOGE Service did not have the authority to cancel National Endowment for the Humanities grants, which made up more than $100 million in congressionally appropriated funds. Judge McMahon said DOGE selected grants for termination in ways that violated the First Amendment and the equal-protection component of the Fifth Amendment, calling the case “a textbook example of unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination.” Citing depositions of two members of DOGE who had directed the grant cuts, Judge McMahon wrote that the cost-cutting group had used ChatGPT to decide which grants would promote diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, but did not tell the AI chatbot how it defined the term. The decision comes after more than a year of litigation over the grant cuts, which revealed new information about DOGE’s inner workings and influence over key decisions.