The federal government has successfully replaced Congress… with a chatbot that also recommends lasagna.
The coup happened on a weekday afternoon. Which feels rude. At least overthrow democracy on a weekend so people can watch.
According to the Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE, because of course it’s called DOGE, the chatbot reviewed more than 1,400 National Endowment for the Humanities grants. These grants were already approved by Congress. Already awarded. The money was basically in its pajamas.
The bot read the descriptions and decided several were “insufficiently constitutional,” a phrase previously used only by refrigerator magnets.
“Our tool identifies ideological inconsistency, gluten sensitivity, and weak verbs in under three seconds,” bragged a Senior Efficiency Coordinator, hired mainly for owning a laptop. “Frankly, Congress was taking too long. Again.”
The chatbot flagged phrases like “cultural history,” “archival research,” and “poetry.” Then it recommended cancellation, a light vinaigrette, and stronger topic sentences. All before lunch.
No one informed the National Endowment for the Humanities. No one informed Congress. No one informed reality.
Enter one federal judge with a 143-page opinion. That is roughly the length of the chatbot’s privacy policy, if it had one. The ruling called the whole thing “unlawful, unconstitutional, ultra vires, and without legal effect” which is legal for: “Absolutely not. What are you doing?”
The court also noted DOGE staff “did not have much experience in anything at all.” Not in law. Not in the humanities. Not even in afternoons.
The grants were reinstated.
The chatbot, when asked for comment, suggested a quinoa bowl… and did it again.
Next on DOGE’s agenda: streamlining the judiciary.
Estimated processing time: one morning.
Reason to Care
Congress controls federal spending. When an executive-branch entity uses an AI tool to cancel congressionally-approved grants based on perceived ideology, with no statutory authority to do so, it is not an administrative error. It is a separation of powers violation with direct consequences for free inquiry, academic research, and public access to humanities funding. A federal court agreed.
What Actually Happened
- DOGE staffers canceled more than 1,400 grants that Congress had appropriated and the National Endowment for the Humanities had already awarded. The cancellations were made using ChatGPT to screen grant descriptions for perceived ideological content.
(Source: PBS NewsHour — https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/judge-finds-trumps-doge-led-cancellation-of-humanities-grants-unconstitutional) - Federal Judge Loren AliKhan issued a 143-page opinion on May 7, 2026, ruling the entire cancellation process "unlawful, unconstitutional, ultra vires, and without legal effect." A permanent injunction followed on May 8, ordering all grants restored.
(Source: American Historical Association — https://www.historians.org/news/federal-judge-rules-to-restore-national-endowment-of-the-humanities-funding-in-historic-case/) - The court found that DOGE staffers who conducted the reviews "did not have much experience in anything at all — certainly not in anything remotely related to the humanities." The ruling describes the terminations as a "textbook example of unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination" in violation of the First Amendment.
(Source: UPI — https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2026/05/08/doge-cuts-illegal-national-endowment-humanities/5661778278533/) - The court ruled that DOGE had no statutory authorization to direct NEH grant terminations, that the cancellations violated Congress's exclusive appropriations authority, and that targeting grants based on ideological viewpoint violated both the First Amendment and the Fifth Amendment's equal protection component.
(Source: PBS NewsHour — https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/judge-finds-trumps-doge-led-cancellation-of-humanities-grants-unconstitutional) - The case was brought by plaintiffs including the American Historical Association. Case number: 1:25-cv-03923.
(Source: American Historical Association — https://www.historians.org/news/federal-judge-rules-to-restore-national-endowment-of-the-humanities-funding-in-historic-case/)
For the Record
DOGE ran 1,400 congressionally-approved grants through a chatbot. Court took 143 pages to say no.