WASHINGTON: 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.
Adam Davis, executive director of the Oregon council, called the decision "heartening and motivating. This is one step — among many that are needed — in the large, ongoing endeavor to knit our communities and the country closer together."
The National Endowment for the Humanities did not immediately answer a phone call or email for comment.
Simon said in issuing the stay that the record contained "unrebutted evidence of irreparable harms," noting that "when these programs are cancelled, there can be no do over and no redress."
The judge rejected a request by the NEH that the injunction be stayed. He said the government had not met the standards for such a stay.
Simon said the defendants were "likely violating statutory obligations and principles of separation of powers that have existed for decades."
The order also stopped the government from "disbursing, encumbering, loaning, granting, or otherwise disposing of the funds committed to Plaintiffs."