⚖ Oral Arguments, with Context

The First Circuit hears a dispute over federal arts funding. Rhode Island Latino Arts and three other arts organizations challenged funding rules adopted by the National Endowment for the Arts. One plaintiff, National Queer Theater, had previously received grants for its annual theater festival. Their filings describe planned projects involving transgender or nonbinary artists, characters, or themes. The dispute began in 2025, when applicants were required to certify that federal funds would not promote what an executive order calls gender ideology. The agency withdrew that requirement, then adopted a policy allowing those views to count against an application at the final review stage. The government says this is not automatic disqualification. A federal judge in Rhode Island struck down that policy under the First Amendment and the Administrative Procedure Act. The government is appealing, contending that competitive arts funding allows it to consider a project's message. The organizations contend that the government is penalizing private artists for a disfavored viewpoint. The judges also consider whether the agency exceeded the authority Congress gave it, without needing to reach the constitutional question.

Rhode Island Latino Arts v. National Endowment for the Arts (No. 25-2113) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, argued October 7, 2026.