Attorney General Dan Rayfield today won a court order stopping the Trump administration from dismantling three federal agencies that provide services and funding supporting public libraries and museums, workers, and minority-owned businesses nationwide. In April, Attorney General Rayfield joined a coalition of 20 other attorneys general in suing the Trump administration to stop the implementation of an Executive Order that would dismantle 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 today issued an order granting the states’ request for a preliminary injunction to stop the Trump administration from implementing the Executive Order and protecting the three agencies.
“These institutions are lifelines in communities in Oregon. The court’s ruling today is an important step in preventing real harm,” Rayfield said. “Libraries and museums aren’t political targets – they educate, preserve culture and create opportunity. Cutting off their funding would have hurt students, families and economies across the state.”
This Executive Order is another example of the Trump administration attempting to dismantle federal agencies in defiance of Congress. The preliminary injunction granted today halts the dismantling of three agencies targeted in the administration’s Executive Order:
- IMLS, which supports museums and libraries nationwide through grantmaking, research, and policy development;
- MBDA, which promotes the growth and inclusion of minority-owned businesses through federal financial assistance programs; and
- FMCS, which promotes the peaceful resolution of labor disputes.
As Attorney General Rayfield and the coalition asserted in the lawsuit, dismantling these agencies will have devastating effects on communities throughout Oregon and the nation that rely on them to provide important services to the public, including funding their libraries, promoting minority-owned businesses, and protecting workers’ rights.
In Oregon, among other things, the loss of the federal funding would greatly impact local libraries, especially in 15 rural counties, which get assistance from the Oregon State Library. It would also affect the Oregon Battle of the Books program, an annual competition for students around the state.
Joining Attorney General Rayfield in the lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.
