A federal court has ruled in favor of New York Attorney General Letitia James and a coalition of 20 other attorneys general, stopping the Trump administration from dismantling four federal agencies. The United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island granted summary judgment to the coalition, which had filed suit in April to prevent the implementation of an Executive Order targeting the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA), the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS), and the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH).
Attorney General James said, “The federal government’s illegal attack on these agencies threatened vital resources for workers, small businesses, and the most vulnerable in our communities. This is a major victory in our ongoing work to defend important services that New Yorkers rely on every day. I will keep fighting to stop the chaos and destruction of this administration’s attempts to dismantle our government.”
The lawsuit initially focused on three agencies: IMLS, which provides support to museums and libraries through grants, research, and policy development; MBDA, which assists minority-owned businesses with federal financial programs; and FMCS, which works toward peaceful resolution of labor disputes. In May, a preliminary injunction was obtained halting enforcement of the Executive Order against these agencies. In June, an amended complaint added USICH—responsible for coordinating federal efforts to address homelessness—to those protected by the legal action.
James and her colleagues argued that eliminating these agencies would violate both constitutional provisions and administrative law by circumventing Congressional authority. The court agreed with their position, ruling that only Congress can dissolve agencies it creates and funds. The decision permanently blocks any further attempts by the administration to eliminate these four entities.
The lawsuit was led by Attorney General James along with her counterparts from Rhode Island and Hawaii. Attorneys general from Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin also joined as plaintiffs.
