Attorney General Ellison wins court order protecting federal agencies supporting libraries, museums, minority-owned businesses, and workers

May 6, 2025 (SAINT PAUL) – Attorney General Ellison today 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 Ellison and a coalition of 20 other attorneys general sued 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 today 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. 

"Donald Trump is the head of one, co-equal branch of the federal government, not a king. Congress created the agencies Trump is trying to dismantle and Congress tasked them with carrying out certain programs to the benefit of the American people. Trump cannot use executive orders to override the authority of Congress,” said Attorney General Ellison. “Today’s preliminary injunction is yet another example of our court system rebuking this lawless president for exceeding his authority and trying to usurp the role of Congress.”

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 Ellison and the coalition asserted in the lawsuit, dismantling these agencies will have devastating effects on communities throughout Minnesota 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 preliminary injunction granted today, 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 in addition to Attorney General Ellison are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.