Attorney General Tong Wins Court Order Protecting Federal Agencies Supporting Libraries, Museums, Minority-Owned Businesses, and Workers

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05/07/2025

Attorney General Tong Wins Court Order Protecting Federal Agencies Supporting Libraries, Museums, Minority-Owned Businesses, and Workers

(Hartford, CT) -- Attorney General William Tong this week won a court order stopping the Trump administration from dismantling three federal agencies that provide services and funding supporting public libraries and museums, workers, and minority-owned businesses nationwide. In April, Attorney General Tong joined a coalition of 20 other attorneys general in suing the Trump administration to stop the implementation of an Executive Order that would dismantle the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA), and the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS). The United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island on Tuesday afternoon issued an order granting the states’ request for a preliminary injunction to stop the Trump administration from implementing the Executive Order and protecting the three agencies.

“We sued to stop Trump from defunding our schools and cancer cures, our disaster relief, and our police. We sued and now have yet another court order stopping him from defunding summer reading programs and audiobooks for disabled veterans. To those who say we’re overreacting because we’ve yet to see widespread destruction of Connecticut programs and jobs—this is the firewall. There is one reason that Trump has yet to completely dismantle our state, and that is because we are suing, we are succeeding, and we’re not going to stop,” said Attorney General Tong.

This Executive Order is another example of the Trump administration attempting to dismantle federal agencies in defiance of Congress. The preliminary injunction granted today halts the dismantling of three agencies targeted in the administration’s Executive Order:

• IMLS, which supports museums and libraries nationwide through grantmaking, research, and policy development;
• MBDA, which promotes the growth and inclusion of minority-owned businesses through federal financial assistance programs; and
• FMCS, which promotes the peaceful resolution of labor disputes.

As Attorney General Tong and the coalition asserted in the lawsuit, dismantling these agencies will have devastating effects on communities throughout Connecticut and the nation that rely on them to provide important services to the public, including funding their libraries, promoting minority-owned businesses, and protecting workers’ rights.

The Connecticut State Library receives $2.2 million in annual funding from IMLS, supporting the salaries of 13 Connecticut workers and programs across Connecticut providing support for early literacy and summer reading, support for veterans and military families, access to eBooks and audiobooks, among other programs. Federal funding supported 8,827 summer reading programs across Connecticut used by 229,470 children and teens last year alone. Loss of federal funding could have an immediate impact on summer reading programs for 2025. More than 5,500 Connecticut patrons rely on federally-funded accessible audio and braille books, including 316 veterans. Federal funding enables free access to more than 50,000 eBooks for all Connecticut residents.

The preliminary injunction granted Tuesday halts the Trump administration’s Executive Order as it applies to IMLS, MBDA, and FMCS. The court found that the states had established a strong likelihood of success on their claims that the Executive Order violates the Administrative Procedure Act and disregards the Constitution by attempting to dismantle agencies that Congress established and funded by law.

Joining the lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.

Twitter: @AGWilliamTong

Facebook: CT Attorney General

Media Contact:

Elizabeth Benton
elizabeth.benton@ct.gov

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