Staff at the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) were told by email late Thursday night that they were being placed on paid administrative leave effective immediately. The news comes two days after 56 state and jurisdiction humanities councils across the country received a letter that their NEH grants were being terminated.
The NEH has not responded to multiple requests for comment.
A senior NEH official, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press, confirms to NPR that among the 145 staff members – 80% of the staff – placed on administrative leave are people from communications, program officers and directors. The official says a team from the Department of Government Efficiency has been visiting NEH offices over the past couple of weeks "and then ratcheted up the pressure."