The Trump administration has cut millions of dollars in federal funding to arts, museums and other cultural institutions in Connecticut, according to state officials.
A series of emails from the chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities terminating all operating grants was received shortly after midnight on Wednesday, said Jason Mancini, who runs the state’s independent NEH affiliate.
“These are the funds for which we serve Connecticut’s cultural sector, our grant making to museums and cultural organizations and through our civics initiative, literature programs, digital projects and educational resources,” he told lawmakers at an Appropriations Committee public hearing Thursday
“This also means that direct NEH grants to all Connecticut organizations will cease,” Mancini said.
“Coupled with the termination of the Institute of Museum and Library Service grants and the suspension of ILMS staff, this means that millions of dollars in federal funding will no longer be invested in our communities,” he said.
His organization is trying to understand the damage, which might be more than $9 million.
“But it will affect our creative and knowledge economies. I’ll hesitate to be alarmist, but I’ll say it. Our rainy day is here,” Mancini said.
Gov. Ned Lamont has said he would be willing to declare an emergency to allow lawmakers to work around the state’s fiscal guardrails and spend some of the state’s rainy-day funds to fill holes created by Trump’s cuts. Lawmakers say it still might not make up for all the cuts.
