The judge found that DOGE made cuts and signed a government offical’s name for the cuts….
But?
The judge does NOT order the government to bring back the grants involved?
Citing depositions of two members of DOGE who had directed the grant cuts, 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.
Humanities organizations — made up of the American Council of Learned Societies, American Historical Association and Modern Language Association of America — argued the grant cuts were arbitrary and capricious because the funding was terminated en masse without considering the specifics of each grant. In depositions, the DOGE members, Justin Fox and Nate Cavanaugh, testified they were focused on eliminating grants they viewed as promoting DEI and other grants they believed contributed to debt. (State humanities councils, which receive funding from the NEH, have also sued over the cuts.)
In depositions and government documents made available through discovery, it was revealed Fox and Cavanaugh had directed the NEH’s acting chairman Michael McDonald in the grant cutting. McDonald’s signature appeared on the letter that canceled grants, but it was placed there by DOGE.
…
McMahon said Congress had conferred no authority on DOGE to cut funding it appropriated, and it was President Donald Trump’s “duty to execute the laws Congress has enacted.”
“DOGE had no statutory authority to terminate NEH grants,” McMahon wrote. “And on the undisputed evidence, DOGE — not the NEH Chairperson or anyone else at NEH — effectuated the terminations at issue here.”…
…
The judge ordered the government to rescind its termination letters to grantees but said the order does not require the government to immediately pay grant funds.
McMahon also highlighted Fox and Cavanaugh’s lack of understanding about the grants and experience in government. The two had come from tech backgrounds and were recruited through Elon Musk’s allies to join DOGE at the beginning of the administration…..
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.