Court stops Trump administration effort to gut Institute of Museum and Library Services

A federal court granted a temporary restraining on May 1 blocking the Trump administration from gutting the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) after AFSCME and the American Library Association (ALA) jointly filed a lawsuit. 

IMLS is the only federal agency dedicated to the nation’s libraries and museums. On March 14, President Trump issued an executive order directing the elimination of the agency. 

“We celebrate today's decision as a victory for library and museum workers and the communities who depend on them. They do everything from helping workers connect to job opportunities to instilling a love of learning and inspiring creativity in others. This ruling will halt the layoffs of the critical workers who support them,” said AFSCME President Lee Saunders. “We look forward to moving our case forward and reversing this unlawful shut down.”

Then the Trump Administration put nearly all agency staff on administrative leave, began mass termination of the agency’s grants, dismissed all members of the IMLS board, and halted crucial data collection and research. These actions left IMLS unable to fulfill its duties required by federal law and threw libraries across the country into a state of chaos.

But AFSCME and the ALA’s lawsuit put a stop to that effort for now.

The Trump administration is attacking public services throughout the nation—slashing budgets, firing workers and attacking unions.

AFSCME is battling these attacks in every venue—and workers are getting organized to rein in the billionaire-backed takeover of public services.