Attorney General Aaron Frey joined the attorneys general of 20 other states on Friday in suing President Donald Trump’s administration to stop the closure of three federal agencies, including the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).
“The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) – one of the targeted agencies – has placed almost its entire staff on administrative leave and will cut hundreds of grants for state libraries and museums. The lawsuit filed by Attorney General Frey and the coalition seeks to stop the targeted destruction of the IMLS and two other agencies targeted in the administration’s EO that millions of Americans rely on, especially those in underserved communities,” the Maine attorney general’s office stated in a press release.
New York, Rhode Island, and Hawaii are leading the lawsuit.
The coalition of attorneys general filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court of Rhode Island, requesting a preliminary injunction against parts of President Trump’s March executive order aimed at further reducing the federal bureaucracy by ordering the elimination—to the maximum extent permitted by law—of seven federal agencies.
“President Trump is leading a campaign to dismantle vast swaths of the federal government. He has directed agencies to freeze the expenditure of funds appropriated by Congress, orchestrated the mass firings of federal probationary employees without following the requisite statutory procedures,” said the complaint.
Though the order demanded the elimination or significant reduction of seven agencies, the lawsuit only sought to stop the dismantling of three of those agencies: the IMLS, the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA), and the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS).
The FMCS helps provide conflict resolution in employer and employee disputes. The MBDA is a racially specific agency that provides benefits and assistance specifically to minority-owned businesses.
The IMLS provides federal support for libraries and museums across the nation. According to Frey, Trump’s executive order has already caused the IMLS to place half of its staff on paid administrative leave and threatens millions of dollars in federal grants for museums and libraries.
Frey claimed that the IMLS gave out $180 million in 2024.
“Dismantling these agencies will have devastating effects on communities throughout Maine 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,” said Frey’s press release.
Maine’s AG also pointed out that the MBDA has been reduced from 40 to five employees as a result of the order and has effectively stopped issuing new taxpayer-funded grants specifically and exclusively for minority businesses.
The complaint claims that Trump’s executive order violates the Constitution and the Administrative Procedure Act, asserting that the president does not have the constitutional authority to unilaterally override federal spending approved by Congress.
Just days before the AGs filed their lawsuit, Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) sent a letter to Trump requesting that he not eliminate the IMLS, arguing that the potential loss of libraries and museums would be devastating to rural, tribal, and underserved communities who rely on libraries.
“I disagree with the administration’s moves to shutter the only agency focused solely on America’s libraries and museums. Mainers understand the value these institutions have in connecting, educating, and even attracting folks from away. I believe in that mission, and am pushing back on those cuts,” said Rep. Golden on X.
Frey has already sued the administration on multiple occasions, including a lawsuit to halt National Institutes of Health funding, and against Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for an $11 billion cut in COVID-era grants.
