The American Civil Liberties Union filed suit on behalf of four arts and theater organizations challenging new restrictions placed on federal grants by the National Endowment for the Arts to comply with President Donald Trump‘s executive order prohibiting promotion of gender ideology.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Rhode Island, contends that the new restrictions violate the First and Fifth Amendments, and are contrary to the NEA’s governing statute.
Read the ACLU lawsuit against the National Endowment for the Arts.
The NEA also is requiring grant recipients to certify their understanding that “federal funds shall not be used to promote gender ideology.”
“Because they seek to affirm transgender and nonbinary identities and experiences in the projects for which they seek funding, Plaintiffs are effectively barred by the ‘gender ideology’ certification and prohibition (together, “gender ideology prohibition”) from receiving NEA grants on artistic merit and excellence grounds,” the ACLU said in its complaint. “Some of their proposed work appears to be ineligible for NEA funding under the new ‘gender ideology’ prohibition, even though similar work has been funded in the past. Moreover, the vagueness of the prohibition requires them to guess as to what if anything they can create, produce, or promote that addresses themes of gender, or that affirms the identities of all people regardless of their gender identity.”
The organizations filing the lawsuit include Rhode Island Latino Arts, whoch has previously received NEA funding; National Queer Theater Inc., which was awarded grants in 2023 and 2024 for its Crimina Queerness Festiva; the Theater Offensive, which has received six grants previously; and Theatre Communications Group, the national theater organization with many members who receive funding.
Also named in the lawsuit as a defendant is Mary Anne Carter, acting chair of the NEA. A spokesperson for the federal arts agency did not immediately return a request for comment.
The lawsuit cites the formation of the NEA in 1965, in which Congress included a provision that grants be determined by artistic excellence and merit, while it sought to prevent political interference in selections federal funding.
Per the lawsuit, National Queer Theater intends to apply for NEA funding this month, but noted that in applying for a grant, it must check a box agreeing that it would not violate the provision on promoting gender ideology.
“Only because one cannot register to apply for NEA funding without checking the box agreeing to the certification in the application, NQT intends to check that box,” according to the lawsuit. “But it will simultaneously make clear in writing on the application that it is not agreeing to the ‘gender ideology’ prohibition because it believes it is legally invalid.”
Erin Harkey, the CEO of Americans for the Arts, the advocacy group, said in a statement, “The current Administration’s new Executive Order has implications beyond the NEA and raises serious constitutional issues, and we support any effort to address these concerns. We hope the NEA and the courts will clarify any guidance on their enforcement before the upcoming grant deadlines.”
Just weeks after Trump took office, the NEA also shifted its grant priorities, with a new emphasis on projects “that celebrate and honor the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.” It also canceled another grant program, Challenge America. That program had an emphasis on “small organizations for projects that extend the reach of the arts to underserved groups/communities.”
