President Trump directed the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) chair Shelly Lowe to step down from her role, which she has now done, an agency spokesperson confirmed Thursday morning.
The spokeswoman, Paula Wasley, said in an email to The Hill that Lowe “has departed her position” at the “direction” of the president.
In the meantime, Trump has designated Michael McDonald, who has served as NEH’s general counsel, to serve as the agency’s acting chairman until “such time as the President nominates and the Senate confirms a new NEH Chairman,” Wasley said.
Lowe was the first Native American to lead NEH, a federal agency that was founded in 1965 and is focused on funding the humanities.
The federal agency has dished out more than $6 billion in grants to colleges, universities, museums, libraries, radio stations, historic sites, research institutions, and affiliated organizations around the country, according to its website.
NEH says the grants help “examine the human condition, promote civics education, understand our cultural heritage, foster mutual respect for diverse beliefs and cultures, and develop media and information literacy.”
In 2024, NEH got $207 million in funding.
Lowe’s departure comes as Trump has looked to overhaul some of the cultural institutions since taking the Oval Office in January, and slash government spending he sees as unnecesessary or in violation of his anti-DEI policies.
Trump announced last month that he would remove appointees from the Kennedy Center board in Washington, D.C. and he named himself the chair of Washington’s cultural institution. The changes at the center spurred several stars to cut ties with the center.
The president signed an executive order in January that would help eradicate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs across the federal government, with Cabinet members carrying out the order in various ways.
The NEH chair serves a four-year term.
Lowe, a Navajo Nation member, was nominated by former President Biden in 2021. She was confirmed by the Senate in early 2022.
