After moving to eliminate the National Endowment for the Arts in his 2026 budget, President Donald Trump has nominated a new head for that federal agency, which doles out grant money to arts organizations of all sizes across the US.
According to governmental documents posted online, Trump has nominated Mary Anne Carter to reassume her post as NEA head, a position she left in 2021 when Joe Biden became President. The conservative newspaper the Washington Times first reported the news on Thursday. A White House spokesperson told the New York Times, “Mary Anne Carter will play a pivotal role in ushering in the Golden Age of American art and culture.”
Carter led the NEA from 2019 to 2021 and was seen as an unusual choice upon her initial appointment because she lacked significant experience in the arts. At the time, her resume included a stint as chief policy adviser to Florida Governor Rick Scott. She joined the NEA after the 2016 Presidential election and became acting chairman in 2018, the year that Jane Chu, the agency’s Obama-appointed head, exited her post.
When she announced her departure in 2021, one day before Biden entered office, the NEA issued a release that touted her outreach to historically Black colleges and university and Native American communities. She explained her decision to leave in that release, saying, “A new team should have a new leader.” Carter is currently listed as a senior adviser to the NEA on the agency’s website.
Her nomination comes during a tumultuous moment for the NEA, which the Trump administration is seeking to defund. An outcry has ensued, and senior NEA leaders have reportedly left the agency en masse.
Meanwhile, many arts organizations have begun reporting that they received emails from the NEA, saying that grant money headed their way was being canceled. A circulating spreadsheet currently lists more than 350 organizations, from museums to theatre companies, that have had their NEA grants canceled.
The emails reportedly said, “The N.E.A. is updating its grantmaking policy priorities to focus funding on projects that reflect the nation’s rich artistic heritage and creativity as prioritized by the president. Consequently, we are terminating awards that fall outside these new priorities.”
