DOGE takes a slice out of America's 250th birthday
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
DOGE's cost-cutting may get in the way of the "grand celebration" President Trump, has ordered for July 4, 2026 — America's 250th birthday.
The big picture: State humanities councils planning 250th anniversary celebrations all over the country have had their funding slashed, and those organizations tell Axios they likely won't be able to execute the big, patriotic plans they had been making.
- Trump has called for an "extraordinary celebration" next summer, and signed an executive order in his first few days in office creating a federal task force to plan it.
- The chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities is part of that task force, and state humanities councils across the country had a leading role in planning public events to mark the occasion.
But 80% of the NEH's staff was placed on administrative leave earlier this month, according to the Federation of State Humanities Councils.
- Those layoffs came just days after the 56 state and jurisdictional humanities councils were alerted that their funding grants were being terminated.
- "These were funds that were already appropriated, that had already been distributed through a competitive process, and they had already been under contract to be provided," said Julie Ziegler, the CEO and executive director of Humanities Washington.
The latest: The National Endowment for the Humanities on Monday opened applications for 250 challenge grants, worth up to $25,000 each, for projects related to the "founding of the American nation, key historical figures, and milestones that reflect the exceptional achievements of the United States" in honor of the anniversary.
- But state officials say the cuts have already prompted them to shed staff and suspend new programming, so even the possibility of new anniversary-specific funding would not fill the massive gap.
Zoom in: Georgia's humanities council was preparing to roll out a wide array of programming for the big 250, president Mary McCartin Wearn told Axios.
- The council planned to give grants to local communities to support their own programming, coordinate a state speakers bureau to platform speakers across the state, partner with the state's public library services to build a digital reading initiative and more.
- Now, it's unlikely they'll have the funds or resources to support such events.
- The NEH cut "threatens our very existence," McCartin Wearn said.
What they're saying: "This commemoration ... is an extraordinary opportunity to talk about the things we most hold dear: freedom, equality, independence, our interdependence," said Gabrielle Lyon, the executive director of Illinois Humanities.
- Now, "the programs that we have already started to outline are all going to be jeopardized," she told Axios.
The White House and the NEH did not respond to Axios' request for comment.
What's next: The impact on state and jurisdictional councils will stretch far beyond the anniversary commemorations.
- "This isn't one event that would be affected by terminating all of our general operating grants," said Michele Anstine, the executive director of Delaware Humanities. "It's all of the work that we do."
