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The White House dismissed the majority of the National Council on the Humanities Wednesday.
Just four of the 26 members remain on the council’s website: Russell Berman, Keegan Callanan, William English and Matthew Rose, The Washington Post reported. All four were appointed by President Trump.
When reached for comment, a White House official told The Hill, “the work of the National Council on the Humanities is important to the President and his vision for the country. The President is hoping to place members on the board who align more closely with his vision.”
The council advises the chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). The acting chair is Michael McDonald, who assumed the post in March after then-chair Shelly Lowe stepped down at the president’s direction.
McDonald, who joined the NEH in 2003, was previously the agency’s general counsel.
The NEH was founded in 1965 via President Lyndon Johnson signing the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act into law.
According to its website, the agency has awarded over $6 billion in grants to museums, historic sites, educational and research institutions, libraries, public television and radio stations, individual scholars and affiliates across the country.
In April, the Department of Government Efficiency terminated millions of dollars in NEH grants. But last month, the move was deemed “unlawful” by a federal judge.