Oregon Joins Multi-State Lawsuit Against Trump’s Executive Order Dismantling Library and Museum Support Agencies

Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield confirmed on Friday that the state has joined the multi-state AG coalition suing the Trump administration to stop dismantling federal agencies that support libraries, museums, minority-owned businesses, and workers nationwide.

Legal Action To Protect Trump Administration Targeted Federal Agencies

Rayfield joined a coalition of 19 other attorneys general to stop the dismantling of three federal support agencies.

President Trump issued an Executive Order in March that would dismantle federal agencies that collectively provide hundreds of millions of dollars for programs in every state, even though Congress created the agencies.

The Executive Order, which is in defiance of Congress, has resulted in almost the entire Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) staff – one of the targeted agencies- being placed on administrative leave.

The order will cut hundreds of grants for state libraries and museums.

The AG’s lawsuit seeks to stop the targeted destruction of the IMLS and two other targeted agencies that millions of Americans rely on, especially people in underserved communities.

Rayfield said, “This is a deliberate attempt to erase the spaces where people learn, connect, and thrive.”

The three agencies targeted in the administration’s Executive Order, which are the subject of the lawsuit, are:

• Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)
• Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA)
• Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS)

Dismantling these agencies will devastate communities throughout Oregon and the nation. In Oregon, the loss of federal funding would greatly affect local libraries, especially those in 15 rural counties.

These libraries get assistance from the Oregon State Library, the Oregon Battle of the Books program, an annual competition for students around the state, and other programs.

The coalition argues that by eliminating the agencies’ programs without regard for the laws and regulations governing each source of federal funding, the Executive Order violates the Constitution and the Administrative Procedure Act.

The group avers that the president cannot decide to override laws governing federal spending unilaterally and says that the Executive Order unconstitutionally overrides Congress’s power to determine how federal funds are spent. Rayfield called the move “a cheap political trick.”