Internal changes at the National Endowment for the Humanities have prompted departures and accusations that grantmaking was tilted toward favored projects. Reporting shows scholars were dismissed and review processes pared back as the agency shifted priorities under new leadership, spurring concern on Capitol Hill and among university humanities departments. Critics say the personnel moves and funding choices risk politicizing cultural grantmaking and starving independent scholarship. The controversy raises questions about federal stewardship of humanities research and the downstream effects on hiring, graduate study and campus programs.