A federal judge ruled that the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) unlawfully terminated more than 1,400 National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) grants, citing constitutional violations and a broad “chilling effect.” Judge Colleen McMahon found the cuts violated First Amendment protections and exceeded statutory authority. Court filings described DOGE officials using ChatGPT to flag grants as potentially tied to anti-DEI executive orders, including by identifying words associated with “history,” “culture,” and “identity.” The decision requires NEH to rescind the grant terminations. Major scholarly organizations brought the lawsuits, and NEH leadership has not immediately responded in the reporting. For higher education, the ruling signals that federal funding decisions cannot rely on viewpoint-based or unauthorized automated criteria when tied to constitutionally protected expression.