By Andrew Roberto
andrew@mvariety.com
Variety News Staff
ALTHOUGH the federal government is partially shut down, the Northern Marianas Humanities Council, which receives funding from the federal National Endowment for the Humanities, will continue operating, says Council Executive Director Leo Pangelinan.
Pangelinan told Variety that the NEH’s Federal/State Partnership Office, which oversees funding for councils across the nation, will remain open while the overall NEH is in “partial shutdown mode.” He said “critical services, such as drawing down grant award funds, will continue” for the Council.
Prior to the federal shutdown earlier this month, two versions of fiscal year 2026 congressional appropriations for NEH were awaiting approval. The U.S. House Appropriations Committee proposed $135 million for the NEH, with $72 million allocated to the Federal/State Partnership Office, while the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee version listed $207 million for NEH, with $65 million for the Partnership Office.
Pangelinan also noted that President Donald Trump’s FY 2026 budget proposes to “eliminate the National Endowment for the Humanities” and allocates $38 million to “facilitate an orderly shutdown of the agency.”
On Oct. 2, online news sources reported that Trump had fired most members of the National Council on the Humanities, the agency that oversees the NEH, reducing its membership from 26 to four. The council requires 14 members to hold a quorum, and any new appointments must be approved by the U.S. Senate.
