A coalition of 21 state attorneys general filed a lawsuit on Friday challenging the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle the federal agency charged with supporting the nation’s libraries.
The lawsuit, brought by the attorneys general of New York, Rhode Island, Hawaii and other states, was filed days after the agency, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, put its staff on leave and began cutting grants. The suit argues that the steep cuts there and at two other small agencies violate both the Constitution and other federal laws related to spending, usurping Congress’s power to decide how federal funds are spent.
The other agencies cited in the lawsuit are the Minority Business Development Agency and the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. They were among the seven agencies targeted by President Trump in a March 14 executive order titled “Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy,” which directed that they be reduced to the “maximum extent consistent with applicable law.”
The move against the library agency has drawn particular outcry. Dozens of library groups have issued statements condemning it as an attack on institutions that serve a broad swath of the public in every state. Letitia James, the attorney general of New York, said in a statement that the targeting of the three agencies was “an attack on vulnerable communities, small businesses and our children’s education.”
“The agencies they are attempting to dismantle support workers nationwide, provide funding to help minority-owned businesses, and make sure our libraries and museums stay open so children can engage in lifelong learning,” she said.
The library agency, created in 1996 and reauthorized most recently in 2018 in legislation signed by Mr. Trump, has an annual budget of nearly $290 million. It provides funding to libraries, museums and archives in every state and territory, with the bulk going to support essential but unglamorous functions like database systems and collections management.
Its largest program delivers roughly $160 million annually to state library agencies, which covers one-third to one-half of their budgets, according to the Chief Officers of State Library Agencies, an independent group representing library officials.
The Institute of Museum and Library Services’s interim director is Keith E. Sonderling, the deputy secretary of labor, who replaced Cyndee Landrum, a career library professional. Shortly after being appointed in early March, Mr. Sonderling visited the agency with a team that included at least one staff member of the Department of Government Efficiency, who set up offices and obtained access to the agency’s computer systems.
On March 31, the agency placed most of its roughly 70 employees on administrative leave. Days later, it began sending letters to state library agencies, including those in California and Connecticut, informing them that their funding was being cut.
New York State received $8 million in 2024, which has been used to help fund literacy programs, improve internet access and support training for 200,000 staff members across the state’s 7,000 libraries. It also paid the salaries of 55 employees at the New York State Library in Albany, two-thirds of the total, according to a news release.
“Our libraries are more than just buildings,” Lauren Moore, the state librarian, said in the release. “They are vibrant hubs of knowledge, culture and community connection that empower individuals and strengthen society. We stand firm in our mission to ensure all New Yorkers continue to have equitable access to the library resources they need.”
The two other agencies cited in the lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court in Rhode Island, have also begun deep cuts, according to the news release from New York’s attorney general.
The Minority Business Development Agency, which promotes minority-owned businesses, has reduced its staff to five from 40 and stopped making grants, according to the release. It said the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, which promotes the mediation of labor disputes, had cut its staff of about 200 to fewer than 15 and “announced the termination of several of its core programs.”
