Attorney General James Wins Lawsuit Stopping Elimination of Four Vital Federal Agencies

NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James today won her lawsuit protecting four federal agencies from being illegally dismantled by the Trump administration. The United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island today granted a motion for summary judgment brought by Attorney General James and a coalition of 20 other attorneys general. In April, Attorney General James co-led the coalition in suing the 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), the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS), and the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH). The court’s order permanently blocks the administration from eliminating these four agencies.

“The federal government’s illegal attack on these agencies threatened vital resources for workers, small businesses, and the most vulnerable in our communities,” said Attorney General James. “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 April, Attorney General James and the coalition sued to stop the administration’s elimination of three federal agencies:

• 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.

In May, Attorney General James and the coalition secured a preliminary injunction stopping the administration from implementing the Executive Order, which sought to dismantle these three agencies. In June, the coalition filed an amended lawsuit seeking to protect another agency targeted by the same Executive Order, USICH, which coordinates the federal government’s efforts to prevent and end homelessness nationwide.

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. 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.

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