National Endowment for the Arts claws back grants

Theaters and art groups across the country have received notice federal stipends for their projects and productions have been canceled

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Editorials

May 8, 2025 - 3:31 PM

The Smithsonian building in Washington, D.C. The nation's cultural heritage, kept in federally supported museums and institutions, is taking a hit as the Donald Trump administration is shaving the number and size of grants at the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities. (Tish Wells/MCT)

Whatever you think of the National Endowment for the Arts, or federal funding of the arts more generally, surely reasonable Americans all can agree that government agencies should not claw back previously approved grants when struggling nonprofit organizations had already started their projects after being told they could count on that money.

But that’s exactly what happened late Friday night when the NEA sent letters to a variety of grantees informing them their grants were being nixed. The after-hours emails, sent from inboxes unwilling to accept replies, followed the…

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