WASHINGTON AP - A federal judge in Oregon issued an injunction Wednesday temporarily stopping the mass cancellation of National Endowment for the Humanities grants to humanities councils around the country, saying the cancellations were likely unconstitutional.
U.S. District Judge Michael H. Simon, an appointee of President Barack Obama, issued a temporary stay on action taken in April by the National Endowment for the Humanities, saying the claims made by plaintiffs in the case were "likely to succeed on their claim that the withholding of the funds at issue in this case is unconstitutional."
Defendants' conduct reflects a "deliberate decision to flout Congressional command and refuse to spend appropriated funds," the opinion said, noting, "The United States Constitution exclusively grants the power of the purse to Congress, not the President."
The Department of Government Efficiency and the National Endowment for the Humanities canceled dozens of grants to state and local humanities' councils in April as part of President Donald Trump's cost-cutting efforts.
The Federation of State Humanities Councils and the Oregon Council for the Humanities filed suit in May to reverse the local funding cuts.