MANHATTAN (LN) — U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon granted summary judgment to plaintiffs including the Authors Guild and the American Council of Learned Societies, declaring the terminations unlawful, unconstitutional, and ultra vires.
The court found the terminations violated the First Amendment and the equal protection component of the Fifth Amendment, and lacked statutory authority.
The judgment, filed May 8, 2026, specifically targeted the role of Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) officials cancellations.
Judge McMahon declared that DOGE officials lacked statutory authority to identify, select, or direct the termination of NEH grants.
The court found the resulting terminations were ultra vires, meaning they exceeded the legal power of the officials who ordered them.
The judgment permanently enjoins the government, its officers, agents, and employees from enforcing or implementing the mass termination.
The injunction covers all termination notices issued as part of the mass action, including grants identified in the plaintiffs’ Exhibit 12.
The government is also barred from terminating those grants on the same or substantially similar impermissible bases identified in the opinion.
Judge McMahon ordered the government to provide written notice of the ruling to all affected grant recipients whose awards were terminated.
The court retained jurisdiction to enforce the order, and the case is now closed.
The judgment follows the court’s Opinion and Order dated May 7, 2026.