The Trump administration has gutted the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), laying off staff members and cancelling current grants awards to humanities researchers and institutions across the nation.

I know many historians and humanities researchers who have had their research and public history grants suspended or cancelled by the Trump administration. These grant were legitimately awarded via academic competitions involving rigorous peer review processes. Cancelling these existing grant awards is improper and potentially illegal.

Now, Trump-appointed administrators of the NEH have announced their plans for next year’s grant funding cycle.

The NEH will divert its grant funds away from humanities research initiatives toward one of President Trump’s pet plans: a so-called “National Garden of American Heroes.”

The NEH announced in a press release that: “In preparation for the nation’s celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 2026, the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is pleased to announce a special funding opportunity to support the design and creation of statues of important American historical figures for the planned National Garden of American Heroes.”

“First proposed by President Trump in 2020, the National Garden of American Heroes sculpture garden will feature life-size statues of 250 great individuals from America’s past who have contributed to our cultural, scientific, economic, and political heritage. The National Garden, which will be constructed for the 2026 semiquincentennial and located at a site to be determined, will create a public space where Americans can gather to learn about and honor American heroes,” according to the NEH.

“NEH’s new National Garden of American Heroes: Statues grant program responds to the January 29, 2025 Presidential Executive Order 13978, “Celebrating America’s Birthday,” which names the National Endowment for the Humanities and sister agency, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), as key partners in the implementation of the National Garden. 

“NEH and NEA have jointly committed a total of $34 million to the creation of the National Garden of American Heroes. Of this $34 million, the two cultural agencies will devote $30 million from their FY 2025 appropriations to enable the creation of statues in marble, granite, bronze, copper, or brass depicting historical figures tied to the accomplishments of the United States. This new grant program is part of NEH’s larger A More Perfect Union initiative focused on exploring America’s story and celebrating its 250 years of cultural heritage.”

The NEH website has a press release on the so-called “National Garden of American Heroes.”