The Trump library agency lawsuits — two federal cases challenging the March 2025 executive order that tried to dismantle the Institute of Museum and Library Services — ended in the plaintiffs’ favor. A federal judge in Rhode Island issued a permanent injunction against the shutdown in November 2025, and in April 2026 the American Library Association and AFSCME signed a binding settlement with the Department of Justice that keeps IMLS operating, restores laid-off employees, and reinstates canceled grants. The fight has since moved from the courts to Congress, where the White House is asking lawmakers to eliminate the agency’s funding.
What the Executive Order Tried to Do
On March 14, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14238, “Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy.” It named seven agencies, including IMLS, and directed them to be eliminated “to the maximum extent of the law.” Staff and services were to be cut to the statutory minimum, and the Office of Management and Budget was told to reject any budget requests from the listed agencies unless the money was needed to shut them down.1American Library Association. FAQ: Executive Order Targeting IMLS
The administration acted within days. Keith E. Sonderling, the new Deputy Secretary of Labor, was appointed acting director of IMLS on March 20, 2025.2Institute of Museum and Library Services. Keith E. Sonderling Sworn in as Acting Director of IMLS3Publishers Weekly. Trump Administration Withdraws Appeal to IMLS Decision1American Library Association. FAQ: Executive Order Targeting IMLS
The Two Lawsuits
Rhode Island v. Trump: The 21-State Case
On April 4, 2025, a coalition of 21 state attorneys general — led by New York’s Letitia James together with Rhode Island and Hawaii — sued in the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island. The case, New York et al. v. Trump, targeted the order’s application to three agencies: IMLS, the Minority Business Development Agency, and the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.4Office of the New York State Attorney General. Attorney General James Sues Trump Administration to Protect Libraries and Museums
The states argued that the order violated the separation of powers by letting the president unilaterally override Congress’s spending decisions and shut down agencies Congress had created and funded. They also alleged that the order was arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act because it dismantled programs without any of the analysis or process the statute requires.4Office of the New York State Attorney General. Attorney General James Sues Trump Administration to Protect Libraries and Museums
ALA v. Sonderling
Days later, the American Library Association and AFSCME filed American Library Association v. Sonderling, Case No. 1:25-cv-01050, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The plaintiffs were represented by Democracy Forward and co-counsel Gair Gallo Eberhard LLP.5Democracy Forward. Court Rules to Stop Trump Administration Effort to Gut Institute of Museum and Library Services AFSCME represents roughly 42,000 cultural workers at libraries and museums.6AFSCME. American Library Association, AFSCME Challenge Trump Administration Gutting of IMLS
The complaint rested on the separation of powers, the Take Care Clause, and the Appropriations Clause, arguing the president cannot refuse to spend money Congress has appropriated for a specific purpose. It also alleged violations of the Museum and Library Services Act of 1996, which imposes mandatory duties on the IMLS director, and challenged the mass layoffs and grant cancellations as arbitrary and capricious agency action under the Administrative Procedure Act.7Democracy Forward. Memorandum of Law in Support of Plaintiffs’ Motion for Preliminary Injunction
How the Courts Ruled
The D.C. Temporary Restraining Order
On May 1, 2025, Judge Richard J. Leon issued a temporary restraining order in ALA v. Sonderling. He found the plaintiffs had shown a “substantial likelihood of success on the merits,” concluding that the wholesale grant terminations and mass layoffs appeared to violate the Museum and Library Services Act and conflicted with Congress’s appropriation of nearly $300 million to the agency.8Publishers Weekly. Judge Grants IMLS a Temporary Reprieve in ALA v. Sonderling
The order barred any further steps to dissolve IMLS, prohibited additional firings or leave placements, and required the administration to keep processing grants and contracts. Judge Leon wrote that “preserving crucial access to library services outweighs defendants’ claimed interest” and that the harm was “not merely economic.”8Publishers Weekly. Judge Grants IMLS a Temporary Reprieve in ALA v. Sonderling
The TRO was extended to May 29, 2025, then lapsed after the parties could not agree on further extensions. On June 6, 2025, the same court denied a preliminary injunction, citing emerging questions from the Supreme Court and circuit courts about whether claims seeking reinstatement of federal grants belong in the Court of Federal Claims rather than a district court.9Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse. American Library Association v. Sonderling
The Rhode Island Preliminary Injunction
By then the state case had already delivered broader relief. On May 13, 2025, Chief Judge John J. McConnell Jr. granted a preliminary injunction that ordered the administration to stop implementing the executive order against IMLS, reverse the steps already taken, restore terminated employees and contractors, and resume processing grant payments to the 21 plaintiff states.10American Library Association. ALA Welcomes Preliminary Injunction in AG Lawsuit
McConnell ruled that the order violated the Administrative Procedure Act and the separation of powers. He wrote that it “disregards the fundamental constitutional role of each of the branches of our federal government; specifically, it ignores the unshakable principles that Congress makes the law and appropriates funds, and the Executive implements the law Congress enacted and spends the funds Congress appropriated.”11Houston Public Media (NPR). States Win a Legal Injunction Against President Trump, Pausing Library Funding Cuts
The Permanent Injunction
On November 21, 2025, Judge McConnell converted his earlier order into a permanent injunction. The ruling barred the administration from taking any future action to implement the executive order against IMLS and three other agencies: the Minority Business Development Agency, the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, and the Interagency Council on Homelessness. McConnell found that the administration’s actions had left those agencies unable to perform their statutory duties or spend the funds Congress had given them, calling the conduct “unlawful, unconstitutional, and in direct violation of Congress’s clear statutory directives.”12Federal News Network. Federal Court Blocks Trump Administration’s Plan to Scrap Small Agencies13American Alliance of Museums. Major Update on IMLS Court Case
Within two weeks, on December 3, 2025, IMLS announced that all previously terminated federal grants had been reinstated.14NPR. Libraries, Museums Federal Funding: IMLS Trump Cuts
The April 2026 Settlement
On April 6, 2026, the Trump administration withdrew its appeal of Judge McConnell’s permanent injunction. Three days later, on April 9, 2026, the ALA and AFSCME signed a binding settlement with the Department of Justice that resolved ALA v. Sonderling.15American Library Association. ALA and AFSCME Prevail in Fight to Protect Libraries and Museums Nationwide
Under the terms, IMLS continues operating and awarding grants. All 2025 reductions in force were rescinded, and affected employees were authorized to return to work. The administration agreed not to carry out any further layoffs to implement the executive order and committed not to take additional steps to reduce or dismantle the agency. The plaintiffs agreed to file a joint stipulation dismissing the case without prejudice within seven days, provided the government held up its end.16Federal News Network. Plaintiffs Settle with Trump Administration, Halting Cuts to Agency That Funds U.S. Libraries The administration maintained in the settlement that its restructuring actions had been lawful, but it took no steps to resume them.17The New York Times. Library Agency Trump Settlement
ALA President Sam Helmick said the outcome “protects life-changing library services for communities across the country” and pledged the association would “continue to defend every American’s freedom to read and learn.”15American Library Association. ALA and AFSCME Prevail in Fight to Protect Libraries and Museums Nationwide AFSCME President Lee Saunders called it “a victory for every community that depends on libraries and museums as gateways to opportunity, learning and connection.”18AFSCME. AFSCME and American Library Association Prevail in Fight to Protect Libraries and Museums Nationwide
The Fight Has Moved to the Budget
The settlement closed the executive-order route, but the administration has shifted to appropriations. The White House’s FY2027 budget proposal, released April 3, 2026, asks Congress to zero out IMLS funding and provide only $6 million for “necessary expenses to carry out its closure.”19American Library Association. White House FY27 Budget Proposal Repeats Threats to Eliminate IMLS
Congress has resisted so far. For FY2026, lawmakers rejected a similar request and provided approximately $292 million for IMLS in a spending package the president signed in February 2026. Senate Appropriations subcommittee chair Shelley Moore Capito, a Republican from West Virginia, said of the administration’s request: “If you look at what we did last year, it shows that we kind of rejected that premise.” She added, “I personally have always been a fan of libraries.” House subcommittee chair Robert Aderholt said his panel was reviewing both the administration’s request and members’ own requests without indicating a direction.20Indiana Citizen. Trump’s Budget Would Gut Local Libraries and Museums. Congress Is Not on Board
IMLS is the primary federal grant-making agency for the country’s roughly 125,000 public, school, academic, and special libraries, as well as for museums. In 2024, it awarded $266.7 million through grants, research, and policy programs covering broadband access, early learning, workforce development, and veterans’ services, with its largest program distributing formula grants to state library agencies.21Institute of Museum and Library Services. Legislation and Budget22Congressional Research Service. IMLS Grants to States Program Those are the dollars the FY2027 request would eliminate.
A Different Trump Library Case
A separate lawsuit filed in May 2026, Sistrunk Seeds v. Trump, challenges the free transfer of a 2.6-acre parcel in downtown Miami to the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library Foundation as an unconstitutional emolument. That case concerns the planned Trump Presidential Library and is unrelated to the IMLS lawsuits described above, though searches for “Trump library lawsuit” will surface both.23The U.S. Constitution. Sistrunk Seeds v. Trump