White House fires much of the National Council on the Humanities

Source: Yahoo! Entertainment/Washington Post

Wed, October 1, 2025 at 2:21 PM EDT


The White House on Wednesday abruptly terminated a large share of the council members advising the National Endowment for the Humanities, retaining only four Trump appointees, according to terminated members reached by The Washington Post and an updated list on the agency’s website.

“On behalf of President Donald J. Trump, I am writing to inform you that your position as a member of the National Council on the Humanities is terminated, effective immediately,” read an email sent to council members on Wednesday morning, according to a copy reviewed by The Post. “Thank you for your service.” The letter was signed by Mary Sprowls of the White House Presidential Personnel Office.

The National Council on the Humanities, a board of 26 scholars and humanities leaders appointed by the president to six-year terms, advises the chair of the NEH on grantmaking, policy and funding decisions. Before the government shutdown on Wednesday, the members were scheduled to attend a special meeting next week to review statue proposals for Trump’s National Garden of American Heroes, according to a terminated board member who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a personnel matter.

By late Wednesday morning, the council’s website had been updated to show only four members: Russell A. Berman, Keegan F. Callanan, William English and Matthew Rose.

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