Massive Victory in Lawsuit Filed Against Trump Administration’s Dismantling of IMLS

In what could be seen as a total victory, today Judge John J. McConnell, Jr. issued a temporary injunction in the case of 21 state attorneys general who sued Donald Trump over the unlawful dismantling of the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The short ruling, which can be read in full hear, requires the following actions:

1. The directive in section two of Executive Order 14238 shall be enjoined as it pertains to the IMLS, as well as the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) and and Federal Mediation and Conciliation Services (FMCS). This means that the demand to whittle these agencies down to the most basic functions shall not continue.
2. Any actions taken to carry out the demands of that Executive Order as they pertain to those three above agencies must be reversed.
3. No further actions can be taken upon the agencies listed above.
4. Defendants are to hire back employees who were terminated as a result of this Executive Order.
5. Money promised via grants must be returned to those who’ve earned them, with the only exceptions being that the grant recipients have failed to meet their end of their agreements.
6. Previously withheld funds from grant recipients must be disbursed.
7. The defendants have seven days to tell the court how they’re going about meeting the requirements of the decision or explain where and how they are not abiding by the decision.

This is a major win for Americans and a major win for public libraries and museums nationwide, which have spent the past two months worried about whether or not federal funding would continue. It is very likely there will be some kind of response from the Trump administration, if not an outright appeal of the decision, in the coming hours and days.

A ruling in the second lawsuit brought against the administration in its gutting of the IMLS, filed by the American Library Association and AFSCME, should arrive in the near future as well. The judge in that case issued a temporary restraining order in the case and signaled that the actions taken by the Trump administration were unconstitutional.

There are many questions yet to be answered, of course, including where and how restoring the staff and functions of the IMLS will work, as well as where and how the Trump administration will continue to push for the institution to serve as an arm of administrative propaganda.