WHY WAIT?

Trump Still Hasn’t Awarded 2016’s National Arts Medals

Marking the longest delay in the award’s history.

President Trump has yet to award 2016 National Arts Medals or National Humanities Medals, marking the longest delay by any president in the awards' history, the New York Times reports. The medals, which are usually awarded annually, honor extraordinary artists; past winners include Georgia O’Keefe, Frank Capra, and Ella Fitzgerald. The Times notes that other presidents have delayed in presenting the awards—Obama once waited almost 17 months—but Trump’s 22-months-and-counting delay is unprecedented. Additionally, since Trump took office, no one has been awarded the National Medal of Science and the National Medal of Technology and Innovation. Some advocates are especially concerned about the arts and humanities medals because of Trump’s contentious relationship with the National Endowment for Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities—both of which he proposed to shutter in his first federal budget. When asked about the medals, a spokesperson from the White House told the Times that “We are currently evaluating candidates and will likely issue later this year.”