Lawsuit Comes After Trump Administration Makes Dramatic Cuts to Institute of Museum and Library Services, Threatening Operations of the New Jersey State Library

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TRENTON — New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin today joined a coalition of 20 attorneys general in filing a lawsuit against the Trump Administration to stop the dismantling of three federal agencies—the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the Minority Business Development Agency, and the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service— that provide services and funding supporting public libraries and museums, workers, and minority-owned businesses nationwide.  The Trump Administration dismantled these agencies in response to Executive Order No 14238, which called for these agencies to be gutted.

As the lawsuit explains, the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) placed almost its entire staff on administrative leave and has ceased new grant awards in response to the Executive Order.  These cuts to IMLS will gravely harm the New Jersey State Library, including the critical services that the State Library provides to patrons with disabilities.

“Once again, the President has gutted federal agencies that administer critical programs that benefit New Jersey residents.  The Trump Administration’s illegal attempts to dismantle the Institute of Museum and Library Sciences will severely harm New Jersey’s state library and the services it provides to residents across our state, including our residents with disabilities,” said Attorney General Platkin. “We will continue to stand up for our librarians and the critical funding they provide every single day, and we will continue to fight the Trump Administration’s reckless attempts to deprive our state of federal programs that benefit our communities.”

This Executive Order is the administration’s latest attempt to dismantle federal agencies in defiance of Congress. The lawsuit filed today seeks to stop the dismantling of three agencies targeted in the administration’s Executive Order:

1. The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), which supports museums and libraries nationwide through grantmaking, research, and policy development;
2. The Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA), which promotes the growth and inclusion of minority-owned businesses through federal financial assistance programs; and
3. The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS), which promotes the peaceful resolution of labor disputes.

As Attorney General Platkin and the coalition assert in the lawsuit, dismantling these agencies will have devastating effects on communities throughout New Jersey and the nation that rely on them to provide important services to the public.

For example, in 2024, IMLS invested $180 million in libraries nationwide under its Grants to States Program. The Trump Administration’s actions will threaten hundreds of library staff across the country that provide essential services to their communities.

In New Jersey, IMLS provided over $4 million in federal funding to the New Jersey State Library.  The loss of these federal funds would severely affect the State Library’s ability to provide, among other things, direct services to almost 13,000 library patrons with disabilities through the State Library’s Talking Book and Braille Center, as well as technology services to over 350 public libraries across the state.

The lawsuit argues that the Executive Order violates the Administrative Procedure Act and the Constitution by eliminating the programs of agencies in violation of the laws and regulations that govern each source of federal funding. The lawsuit alleges that the President cannot unilaterally override laws governing federal spending, and that this Executive Order unconstitutionally overrides Congress’s power to decide how federal funds are spent.

In today’s lawsuit, Attorney General Platkin joins the attorneys general of New York, Rhode Island, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.

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