Oklahoma Humanities Council fears future after letter from DOGE
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – An organization that works quietly in the background to help provide grants for educational and cultural experiences to communities across the state doesn't know if they'll continue to operate after receiving a letter from the Department of Government Efficiency.
'There is the very likely scenario that Oklahoma Humanities doesn't come back from this,' said Caroline Lowery.
LOCAL NEWS: Yukon residents oppose amphitheater plans
Lowery is the executive director of the Oklahoma Humanities Council.
For more than 50 years, the council has taken federal grants and distributes them across the state, especially in rural areas. Their work can be noticed in places like libraries, universities, historical societies, and museums in Oklahoma.
'They're able to offer additional programming for their communities, maybe that would be exhibitions, maybe 'let's talk about it' the reading program, maybe it's bringing schools into the museums,' said Brenda Granger, the executive director of the Oklahoma Museums Association.
There are countless other examples of their work, like field trips and new exhibits at the Oklahoma Museum of Art.
They also helped the Arts and Cultural Affairs of OKC preserve stories from Oklahoma's black communities.
'There were these thriving communities who's stories are getting ready to disappear entirely,' said Randy Marks, the program planner of the with the OKC Arts and Cultural Affairs.
Lowery said the council received a letter from the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, warning there will be no more grants.
'It will be devastating to cultural infrastructure of Oklahoma. It will mean people will lose their jobs. It will mean people will lose programs in their community,' said Lowery.
LOCAL NEWS: 'Trust that instinct': Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper helps end Texas Amber Alert
Lowery argues this is not federal waste. It's jobs, culture, and education. The community also matches the federal dollars given in grants.
'For every one dollar in federal funds that comes here we are matching that with at least three dollars,' said Lowery.
Now, Lowery and the council are working with Oklahoma congressional delegation, hoping they can go to bat for them.
'It will be a devastating loss to all 77 counties. Our work is everywhere,' said Lowery.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Yahoo
Booker won't accept money from Elon Musk for campaign, but urges him to 'sound the alarm' on Trump-backed bill
Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., told NBC News on Sunday that he wouldn't accept money from Elon Musk for his re-election campaign, but urged the former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) official to "sound the alarm" on the "big, beautiful bill" endorsed by President Donald Trump. "Meet the Press" host Kristen Welker asked Booker on Sunday if he would accept money from Musk after the billionaire and the president traded barbs. "I will partner with anyone like I did in the last Congress, putting my vote alongside of John McCain's, Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins to stop the tearing down of the Affordable Care Act. This is not about right or left. It's about right or wrong. And this bill is disastrous for the average American, driving up this cost. This bill is disastrous for our long-term economy. This is an American issue, and I welcome Elon Musk, not to my campaign, I welcome him right now, not to sit back and fire off tweets, to get involved right now in a more substantive way, in putting pressure on Congresspeople and senators to not do this," Booker said. Timeline: Inside The Evolving Relationship Between Trump And Musk From First Term To This Week's Fallout Welker asked Booker again if he would accept money from Musk. "I would not accept money from Elon Musk for my campaign, but I would be supportive of anybody, including Elon Musk, putting resources forward right now to let more Americans know, sound the alarm, treat this like a Paul Revere moment. More Americans have to understand that if this bill passes, average Americans are going to see their costs skyrocket, as this president, again, pushes legislation that is indicative of his chaos, corruption and cruelty towards Americans," Booker said. Read On The Fox News App Musk criticized the Trump-backed bill as a "disgusting abomination." "This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination," Musk said in a post on X. "Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it." Gop Senators Express 'Concerns,' 'Skepticism' Over Trump's Spending Bill After Musk Rant Welker also pressed Booker on the state of the Democratic Party, asking the liberal senator about former White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre's decision to register as an Independent, which she announced along with a new book about her time in the White House. "Do you think Democrats have to distance themselves from the party brand in order to win?" Welker asked, noting some of New Jersey's gubernatorial candidates have also been critical of the party, ahead of the primary election on Tuesday. Click Here For More Coverage Of Media And Culture "I think the Democrats right now all across America should be less concerned about the Democratic Party and more concerned with the American people. There's a trust problem for Republicans and Democrats. Most Americans voted against both of the presidential candidates in the last election. We need to start standing up and show we're fighting for Americans right now," Booker responded. Booker also said he was going to endorse whoever wins the Democratic gubernatorial primary in New article source: Booker won't accept money from Elon Musk for campaign, but urges him to 'sound the alarm' on Trump-backed bill
Business Insider
12 hours ago
- Business Insider
Elon Musk and President Trump Clash Heads on X amid 'One Big Beautiful Bill'
The last few days on X have been a showdown between President Trump and his longtime friend, Elon Musk. They have gone back and forth with each other, with Elon being very vocal about his disapproval of the One Big Beautiful Bill. This has been surprising for many observers, given the well-known and open relationship between the President and the tech billionaire. Confident Investing Starts Here: Easily unpack a company's performance with TipRanks' new KPI Data for smart investment decisions Receive undervalued, market resilient stocks right to your inbox with TipRanks' Smart Value Newsletter Over the last 140 days of President Trump's second term, we have seen the close-knit relationship between him and Elon Musk. Elon served as the head of DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) for the first 130 days of Trump's second term, wiping out more than $170 billion from U.S. government spending. Elon's last day in office included a meeting with President Trump in the Oval Office to praise Elon and the DOGE team for the work they had been doing. 'Elon is really not leaving, he's gonna be back and forth, I think I have a feeling,' Trump said. Musk added, 'The DOGE team is doing an incredible job. They're going to continue doing an incredible job, and I will continue to be visiting here and be a friend and advisor to the President.' The One Big Beautiful Bill Looking at President Trump's new bill, which he wants the Senate to pass by July 4th, there is a lot to uncover and discuss about what he wants for America. To begin with, he starts with lots of tax relief for American families and workers. He permanently extends lower federal income tax brackets and repeals the deduction for personal exemptions. He permanently doubles the child tax credit to $2,000 and then implements a temporary boost to $2,500 until 2028 to adjust for inflation. Additional tax benefits include deductions on tips and overtime pay for workers. He includes major Medicaid cuts by adding work requirements, frequent eligibility checks, and restrictions on who can be covered (transgender care ban, caps on undocumented immigrants). Looking now at national defense—this is where the bill has seen some negative feedback. Trump wants to have a massive defense boost by spending $150 billion on new defense projects and a new 'Golden Dome' weapon system. Within this $150 billion investment, about $50–$70 billion would be allocated for new border wall construction and an increase in CBP and ICE agents. Finally, looking at energy, Trump wants to end the tax break for electric cars, which would also eliminate credits to make solar panels and wind farms cheaper to install. In addition, he wants to cut renewable energy capacity in half, which could lead to more fossil fuels and ultimately more pollution. All in all, this would reduce current government revenue by $3.7 trillion through tax breaks and deductions, offset by government spending cuts of $1.3 trillion through reductions in government programs. The net result, however, is that this would add more than $2.5 trillion of new debt for the U.S. over the next decade. Elon Musk Calls Out President Trump on New Bill Musk has turned against Trump and the bill because it ultimately goes against all the work he and the DOGE team accomplished over the last 130 days—reducing U.S. spending, promising to begin balancing the budget, and lowering national debt levels. On Wednesday, Elon started sharing his views about the bill on X: 'Call your Senator, Call your Congressman, Bankrupting America is NOT ok, KILL the BILL.' The main issue Elon has with the bill is that it adds more than $2.5 trillion back into the nation's debt; in contrast, his job at DOGE and Trump's promise to America were to cut government spending and decrease the national deficit. He continued to vocalize his opinions about the bill all day Thursday. While he agrees with parts of the bill—including cutting the tax break for electric vehicles—Elon tweeted: 'Either you get a big and ugly bill or a slim and beautiful bill; Slim and beautiful is the way.' During President Trump's press conference on Thursday with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, he finally had a chance to give his opinion: 'I'm very disappointed with Elon. I've helped him a lot. He knew the inner workings of the bill better than anybody sitting here. He had no problem with it. All of a sudden, he had a problem, and he only developed the problem when he found out we're going to cut the EV mandate.' Elon was quick to respond by saying: 'False. This bill was never shown to me even once and was passed in the dead of night so fast that almost no one in Congress could even read it!' The two continued later into Thursday, going back and forth, with Trump even threatening to terminate Elon's Tesla (TSLA) and SpaceX government-backed contracts and subsidies. Elon's comments on Thursday led Tesla stock to decrease 15%, wiping out more than $150 billion in market cap—one of the largest single-day declines and the largest single-day dollar loss in Tesla's history. Since then its been able to correct itself just slightly, but not a full rebound to Wednesdays price. Elon has continued to be vocal on X in showing his displeasure with the new bill, calling on U.S. Senators to take a close look at it over the next few weeks and implement major changes. Conclusion
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- Yahoo
"Wouldn't describe it as a fistfight": White House speaks on Musk, Bessent scrap
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt disagreed with the characterization of a fight between former Trump adviser Elon Musk and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. During a stop by "Sunday Morning Futures" on Fox News, Leavitt pushed back against reports that Musk "body-checked" Bessent. Host Maria Bartiromo asked Leavitt "how rough this got," teeing up the presidential spox to hand-wave away a scrap just outside the Oval Office. "I certainly wouldn't describe it as a fistfight, Maria. It was definitely a disagreement," Leavitt said. "I was not there. I didn't witness it with my own eyes. I heard about it through secondhand reporting. But again, we've moved on from that. The president has moved on from that." Musk's rage at the Trump administration hasn't been contained to his Cabinet. Since leaving his post at the Department of Government Efficiency, the tech billionaire has railed against the president and Republicans in Congress over their support of a massive spending bill. The feud between Donald Trump and Musk escalated to the point that Trump is reportedly planning to sell a Tesla he purchased from the automaker earlier this year. That quick turnaround came after Musk accused Trump of being an associate of alleged sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein in a since-deleted post to social media. Musk's call-out was less a revelation and more of a reiteration of publicly known facts, but it was clearly enough to get the president's attention. The tiff with Trump has done severe damage to Musk's net worth, as the value of shares in Musk-owned companies has plummeted with each new volley of insults.
