In a press statement, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced that she has won a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s attempted dismantling of four federal agencies.
On Friday, a judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island granted a motion for summary judgment brought by James and a coalition of 20 other state attorneys general.
The lawsuit, filed in April, asked the court to block the Trump administration from dismantling four federal agencies: the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the Minority Business Development Agency, the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, and the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness.
“The Trump administration is launching another attack on vulnerable communities, small businesses, and our children’s education,” James said shortly after the lawsuit was filed. “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. My office will continue to stand up to this administration’s chaos and destruction, and defend critical services that communities throughout New York and the nation depend upon.”
The court’s order, if it is not appealed or reversed, permanently blocks the Trump administration from closing the agencies.
“The federal government’s illegal attack on these agencies threatened vital resources for workers, small businesses, and the most vulnerable in our communities,” James said in a press release. “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.”
In May, James and her co-plaintiffs secured a preliminary injunction stopping the administration from implementing an executive order dismantling three of the four agencies: the IMLS, the MBDA, and the FMCS. The lawsuit was expanded to include the fourth agency in June.
“Attorney General James and the coalition argued in the lawsuit that the Executive Order’s elimination of all four agencies violates the Constitution and the Administrative Procedure Act by attempting to override Congress,” James’s office said in a statement announcing the summary judgment. “The president does not have the power to unilaterally eliminate federal agencies created and funded by Congress, and he cannot arbitrarily and suddenly cease agency programs. In its decision on the motion for summary judgment, the District Court sided with Attorney General James and the coalition, ruling that the administration’s actions were unlawful, and barred the administration from taking any future actions to carry out the Executive Order’s elimination of the four agencies.”
Sources
Attorney General James Sues Trump Administration to Protect Libraries and Museums
Attorney General James Wins Lawsuit Stopping Elimination of Four Vital Federal Agencies
Join the conversation!