Ivanka Trump with her Richard Prince piece
President Trump’s proposed plan for a $54 billion increase in the defense budget would be paid for by drastically cutting many agency budgets, including the elimination of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) with its relatively modest annual budget of approximately $150 million (the cost of a single top-of-the-line fighter jet). This is a dream come true for conservative Republicans who have tried repeatedly to kill the NEA since the Reagan years, viewing it as either a waste of money or a source of funding for artists and art institutions perceived to be on the liberal end of the political spectrum. This is the first time that Republicans control both the presidency and Congress since the NEA was created, making this the most serious threat yet to the agency (the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting are also slated for elimination). Continue reading