New York Attorney General Letitia James has secured a court order preventing the Trump administration from dismantling three federal agencies that provide essential services and funding to public libraries, museums, workers, and minority-owned businesses across the United States. In April, Attorney General James co-led a coalition of 20 other attorneys general in filing a lawsuit against the Trump administration to block an Executive Order aimed at disbanding the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA), and the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS). The United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island issued an order granting a preliminary injunction to halt the implementation of this Executive Order.
“These agencies provide critical support to help minority-owned businesses, protect workers’ rights, and make sure our libraries and museums continue to serve our communities,” stated Attorney General James. “The administration’s attack on these agencies is illegal, and today we put a stop to it. I will continue to fight back against this administration’s chaos and destruction of basic services that New Yorkers depend on.”
The Executive Order represents another attempt by the Trump administration to dismantle federal agencies despite congressional intent. The granted preliminary injunction stops actions against three specific agencies:
- IMLS supports museums and libraries nationwide through grantmaking, research, and policy development.
- MBDA promotes growth and inclusion for minority-owned businesses via federal financial assistance programs.
- FMCS facilitates peaceful resolution of labor disputes.
Attorney General James argues that dismantling these agencies would have severe impacts on communities in New York and across the nation that rely on their services. These include funding for libraries, support for minority-owned businesses, and protection of workers' rights.
In 2024 alone, IMLS invested $180 million in libraries under its Grants to States Program. New York received over $8 million from this program which supported literacy initiatives for children and adults, provided training for library staff across 7,000 state libraries, improved internet access in libraries, and funded salaries for two-thirds of New York State Library employees. The proposed administrative action threatened numerous library staff positions nationwide.
The court's decision found that there was a strong likelihood that claims asserting violations of the Administrative Procedure Act by attempting to dismantle legally established agencies would succeed.
This legal challenge is led by Attorney General James along with her counterparts from Rhode Island and Hawaii. Additional support comes from attorneys general representing Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico Oregon Vermont Washington Wisconsin.