Judge McMahon ordered NEH grant cancellations rescinded, a circuit court heard Kelly v. Hegseth on military authority, and a Georgia judge denied Fulton County's ballot return motion.
Federal courts delivered rulings and heard arguments this week on three fronts testing the boundaries of executive authority. Judge Colleen McMahon ordered the rescission of National Endowment for the Humanities grant cancellations that the Department of Government Efficiency had directed, finding the cancellations legally defective [1]. In a separate matter, a federal circuit court heard oral argument in Mark Kelly v. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, a case centering on military command authority [1]. Meanwhile, Judge J.P. Boulee denied Fulton County's motion seeking return of 2020 election ballots that the FBI had seized [1].
The three matters arose in different courts but were flagged together in Lawfare's May 18 weekly digest of Trump administration legal challenges, covering developments from the week of May 15, 2026 [1]. McMahon's order addressed grant terminations that the NEH had executed under DOGE direction. Kelly v. Hegseth, brought by Sen. Mark Kelly, is proceeding at the circuit level and concerns the scope of civilian and military authority over defense personnel decisions [1]. Boulee's ruling, issued in the Northern District of Georgia, leaves the FBI-held ballots in federal custody while the underlying dispute over their handling continues [1].
McMahon's order represents the latest instance of a federal court applying administrative law constraints to DOGE-directed agency actions. Courts have increasingly scrutinized whether agencies followed required procedures before terminating congressionally appropriated grant funding, and McMahon's rescission order extends that line of review to the NEH [1]. The Kelly case carries separate significance: circuit-level argument over military command authority is a relatively rare posture, and a ruling against Hegseth could constrain how the Defense Department structures personnel decisions going forward [1]. Boulee's denial of the ballot return motion, by contrast, preserves the evidentiary status quo in a Georgia proceeding that has drawn sustained attention since 2020 [1].
All three matters are expected to generate further rulings or briefing in the coming weeks. The Kelly circuit panel will proceed to decision following argument, and any opinion on military command authority could draw immediate attention from the Defense Department and congressional oversight committees [1]. On the NEH front, the government may appeal or seek a stay of McMahon's rescission order, a step that would test whether a higher court is prepared to defer to DOGE-backed agency decisions on funding [1]. Boulee's ballot ruling is subject to appeal, and Fulton County has not publicly indicated its next step [1].