Parties affected: On July 22, 2025, the U.S. announced its withdrawal from UNESCO, citing the organization’s “divisive social and cultural causes” and perceived anti-Israel bias, effective December 31, 2026. The withdrawal eliminates U.S. influence over international cultural policy and ends American institutions’ access to UNESCO funding, partnerships, and networks for heritage conservation. U.S. World Heritage sites lose access to international preservation support and expertise, while museums, universities, and cultural organizations are cut off from global collaboration on heritage protection. Critics warn the move weakens multilateral safeguards for cultural heritage worldwide and cedes cultural diplomacy leadership to other nations.

On June 27, 2025, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in Mahmoud v. Taylor that schools must notify parents and allow religious opt-outs from lessons using LGBTQ-themed storybooks. The decision creates legal and financial incentives for schools to preemptively remove LGBTQ+ literature from classrooms to avoid lawsuits, effectively restricting students’ access to diverse cultural expression and limiting their ability to participate in literary education that reflects varied identities and experiences. Justice Sotomayor’s dissent warned the ruling would have a “chilling effect” that leads to censorship of artistic and cultural materials in school curricula nationwide.

The State Department issued a press release and corresponding cable requiring all F, M, and J visa applicants to set all social media profiles to “public” for consular officer review of their “entire online presence.” Officers must temporarily refuse cases under INA § 221(g) to conduct post-interview vetting screening for “hostile attitudes toward U.S. citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles.” This policy creates substantial barriers and processing delays for international students and cultural exchange participants, effectively screening artistic and political expression as a visa eligibility criterion. The requirement forces artists, musicians, theater practitioners, and students to expose all online content to government surveillance and self-censor expression to obtain visas for studying or participating in cultural exchange in the United States. Human rights organizations have raised concerns that this barrier to entry may be used to discriminate against visa applicants whose views or beliefs do not align with the current Presidential administration.

Presidential Proclamation 10949 established travel restrictions on 19 countries, with full entry suspension for 12 countries (Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen) and partial suspension for 7 countries (Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, Venezuela) restricting immigrant visas and B (visitor), F (student), M (vocational), and J (cultural exchange) nonimmigrant visas. The proclamation directly limits cultural exchange and artistic mobility, preventing international artists, students at arts universities, and cultural exchange participants from these countries from entering the United States. Valid visas issued before June 9, 2025 remain valid, but nationals from these countries cannot obtain new visas except through narrow national interest exceptions. A federal judge has already limited the June 4, 2025 travel-ban proclamation (Proclamation 10949) by ruling that the government cannot use it to block entry for 80 previously vetted refugees, showing that courts are scrutinizing its application even though the proclamation itself remains in effect.

On May 30, 2025, the Trump administration released its detailed FY2026 budget proposal, reaffirming plans to eliminate the National Endowment for the Arts and consolidating the Department of Education’s Assistance for Arts Education program into a new K-12 block grant with 69% reduced funding. The proposal redirects education resources toward “core subjects” including math, reading, science, and history. Arts advocates warn these cuts threaten equitable access to arts education, particularly in under-resourced districts.

On May 20, 2025, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum issued Secretarial Order 3431, instructing the National Park Service and other Interior-managed cultural sites to remove or revise all content, signage, imagery, descriptions, depictions, and narratives that “innappropriately disparage Americans past or present” in line with Executive Order 14253. The order resulted in the removal of historical content related to slavery and Indigenous resistance at several park sites. Notable examples include the removal of “The Scourged Back” exhibit at Fort Pulaski National Monument (GA), along with the deletion of climate-change signage at Acadia National Park (ME) and the alteration of Indigenous-history displays at Muir Woods National Monument (CA) and Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge (NY).

On May 8, 2025, President Trump abruptly dismissed Dr. Carla Hayden as Librarian of Congress. No formal cause was initially given, but the White House later accused Hayden of “pursuing DEI initiatives” and “placing inappropriate books in the library for children.” The removal came before the end of her 10-year term and provoked widespread concern about executive interference in the independence of the Library of Congress, a constitutionally created cultural and archival institution charged with preserving nonpartisan access to knowledge and the arts. Critics warned that such politicized removals threaten institutional independence and set a precedent for executive interference in national cultural governance.

On May 2, 2025, the Trump administration released its FY2026 “skinny budget” proposal, calling for the complete elimination of the National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, and Institute of Museum and Library Services. The proposal also indicated a 15% cut to the Department of Education, with plans to consolidate multiple K-12 grant programs. Arts advocates warn that eliminating federal arts funding would devastate cultural organizations and reduce access to arts education nationwide.

On May 2, 2025, the National Endowment for the Arts sent termination and withdrawal notices to hundreds of arts organizations nationwide, effective May 31, 2025. The emails stated the NEA was “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.” Organizations affected included theater companies, literary magazines, dance groups, museums, and festivals of all types, with grants ranging from $10,000 to $100,000. The widespread cancellations raised concerns about censorship and the chilling of artistic expression across diverse communities.

On May 1, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order directing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to cease all direct and indirect federal funding to NPR and PBS, citing alleged political bias. The order affects approximately 1,500 local public radio and television stations nationwide that rely on CPB funding for educational and cultural programming, particularly in rural and underserved communities. CPB, PBS, and NPR have stated the order is unlawful, arguing that CPB is a congressionally created independent entity not subject to presidential authority, and filed suits on first amendment and other grounds. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting distributes approximately $535 million annually in federal funds to public media.

On April 2, 2025, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) updated its Policy Manual to recognize only two “biological sexes”—male and female—based on birth certificates issued at or near time of birth, pursuant to Executive Order 14168 “Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government” signed January 20, 2025. The policy eliminates the “X” gender marker option and requires all immigration benefit applications to indicate sex as male or female based on birth records. The policy directly impacts transgender and nonbinary artists, including US citizens and those applying for O-1, P-1, P-3, and other work visas. Canadian musician Bells Larsen, whose album explores trans experience, canceled his June 2025 U.S. tour after receiving guidance from the American Federation of Musicians that applicants with gender markers changed from birth certificates would face visa difficulties. The policy applies to all pending and new applications filed on or after April 2, 2025.

In early April 2025, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) directed the National Endowment for the Humanities to terminate over 1,400 grants, including all fiscal year 2025 funding to state humanities councils, affecting museums, libraries, historic sites, and cultural programs nationwide. The grant cancellations, which totaled approximately $175 million in undisbursed funds, were issued via late-night emails on April 2, 2025. Federal courts later ruled the cancellations unlawful, though funding remains blocked pending litigation.