President Joe Biden on Thursday appointed singer Lady Gaga and Bruce Cohen as co-chairs of the revived Arts and the Humanities Committee. Other members include George Clooney, Jennifer Garner, Troy Kotsur, Shonda Rhimes and Kerry Washington.

The committee board disbanded in 2017, protesting a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. However, in October, 2022, President Joe Biden issued an executive order to reinstate it. The Democrat then said that arts and humanities is “essential to the well-being, health, vitality and democracy of our nation.”

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What does the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities do?

The President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, also known as PCAH, was founded in 1982. It was made to advise the President on cultural policy, the White House states.

The First Lady has always served as the Chair of the Committee. Other members are appointed by the President. They include artists, philanthropists and scholars, the White House adds.

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“Public members represent the heads of key federal agencies with a role in culture, including the Chairs of the National Endowments for the Arts and the Humanities, the Librarian of Congress, the Secretary of the Smithsonian, and the Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, among others.”

It advises the President on ‘policy, philanthropic and private sector engagement, and other efforts to enhance federal support for the arts, humanities, and museum and library services’.

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All members under Biden’s Arts and Humanities Committee:

Bruce Cohen, Co-Chair
Lady Gaga, Co-Chair
Jon Batiste, Member
Constance M. Carroll, Member
George Clooney, Member
Philip J. Deloria, Member
M. Angélica Garcia, Member
Jennifer Garner, Member
Nora Halpern, Member
Steve Israel, Member
Marta Kauffman, Member
Ricky Kirshner, Member
Troy Kotsur, Member
Katie McGrath, Member
Laura Penn, Member
Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya, Member
Arnold Rampersad, Member
Shonda Rhimes, Member
Kimberly Richter Shirley, Member
Horacio Sierra, Member
Anna Deavere Smith, Member
Joe Walsh, Member
Kerry Washington, Member
Pauline Yu, Member