Court Leaning Toward Decision Against Institute of Museum and Library Services' Closure
The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), a federal agency that distributes funding to American museums and libraries, remains in a precarious position as a preliminary court order preserves its funding and operations, but the legal battle continues.
Appointed by former President George W. Bush, Judge Richard J. Leon is expected to issue a ruling today regarding the efforts to dismantle the IMLS. The judge seems to disagree with the Justice Department's view of the IMLS situation as a policy dispute.
In May 2025, a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction in the case Rhode Island v. Trump, preventing further dismantling of the IMLS. The court ordered the Trump administration to reverse its actions, restore funding grants in the 21 plaintiff states, and resume staffing and operations at the agency.
The government has appealed the preliminary injunction and requested that it be stayed during the appeal, but the court declined to stay the injunction, so it continues to be in place while the appeal is pending. The 21 states’ attorneys general have recently asked the Rhode Island court to issue a summary judgment for a permanent injunction to keep IMLS fully staffed and operational.
Separately, the Woodmere Art Museum in Philadelphia has filed its own lawsuit against the Trump administration seeking reversal of a canceled $750,000 IMLS grant, citing disruption to its ongoing projects.
Keith Sonderling, the acting director of the IMLS, has been at the centre of controversy. Sonderling, who previously served as deputy secretary of labor during President Trump's first term and was an EEOC commissioner, placed the entire 75-person staff of the IMLS on leave. Institutions across the country are scrambling to rectify financial shortcomings due to the alleged dismantling of the IMLS.
Libraries on tribal land have been particularly impacted, as they primarily rely on federal grants for funding. The American Library Association (ALA) and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), which represent over 42,000 US cultural workers, have filed a lawsuit in the US District Court for the District of Columbia against the Trump administration regarding the dismissal of most of the IMLS staff.
The IMLS, despite efforts to dismantle it, remains a federal agency targeted by Trump's executive orders. The current status of the main lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is that a preliminary injunction preventing further dismantling remains in effect as of August 2025. The ruling from Judge Richard J. Leon today will determine the immediate fate of the IMLS in the face of the Trump administration's efforts to dismantle it.
[1] Rhode Island v. Trump [2] 21 States Sue Trump Administration Over Museum and Library Funding [3] Woodmere Art Museum Sues Trump Administration Over Canceled Grant [4] ALA and AFSCME Sue Trump Administration Over IMLS Dismissals [5] Trump's DOGE Guts IMLS Last Month
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