A Rhode Island court has issued a preliminary injunction to halt the dismantling of three federal agencies that provide essential services and funding to public libraries, museums, workers, and small businesses across the nation. The order follows a motion filed by Attorney General Neronha and a coalition of 19 other attorneys general.
"This order tells the Trump Administration, in no uncertain terms, that it must immediately end the dismantling of these important agencies and resume the disbursement of allocated funding, and fast," stated Attorney General Neronha. He emphasized the responsibility of attorneys general to protect state residents from harm caused by federal actions.
The legal action was co-led by Attorney General Neronha alongside New York's Attorney General Letitia James and Hawaii's Attorney General Anne Lopez. Attorneys general from Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin also joined the lawsuit.
Attorney General Neronha expressed his view on the significance of this injunction: "Today’s preliminary injunction is a critical win for the public interest." He criticized efforts by the Trump Administration to limit access to resources provided by these agencies. "We won’t let them," he asserted.
He further reflected on his experiences with concerned Rhode Islanders: "While I don’t have all the answers," he said he points to such legal victories as examples of effective resistance against unlawful federal actions. "We’ve won many times before; we won today; and we will win in the future."