In his budget blueprint released on Thursday, President Donald Trump proposed completely eliminating the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities.
The endowments have long been targets of conservatives, but Trump is the first President to call for their elimination entirely.
The NEA had been under threat in the 1980s, under President Ronald Reagan, and again in the 1990s under President George H.W. Bush. In the 1990s, Republicans were aghast that the Corcoran Gallery funded a provocative project by photographer Robert Mapplethorpe and lawmakers successfully restricted the NEA’s grant making process.
The NEA and NEH have been funding targets as recently as 2014, when Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), who now serves as speaker of the House, called for their elimination in his 2015 budget.
