On Nov. 21, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha P’19 P’22 and a coalition of 20 other attorneys general secured a permanent injunction against the Trump administration in a case challenging federal actions that threaten libraries, organizations addressing homelessness, workers and small businesses.
In issuing the injunction, the United States District Court in Rhode Island stated that the Trump administration “acted without constitutional or statutory authority” in its March 14 executive order reducing the function and personnel of seven federal agencies.
The coalition’s April lawsuit specifically sought to stop the dismantling of three agencies: the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service and the Minority Business Development Agency. The coalition later amended their complaint to include the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, another one of the seven agencies threatened by the executive order, according to the court order.
These agencies “collectively provide hundreds of millions of dollars for programs in every state,” according to Neronha’s April press release announcing the suit.
In response to the lawsuit, the U.S. District Court in Rhode Island issued a preliminary injunction in May. The federal government sought a stay on the preliminary injunction and appealed the case to the First Circuit Court of Appeals, but in September, the court denied the motion to stay. The appeal is still pending.
Following the permanent injunction issued by the District Court last month, Neronha wrote in a statement to The Herald that the four agencies “can continue to serve our communities, whether through your neighborhood library, labor dispute arbitration or support for small businesses.
“Each of these agencies serve a vital role that the President cannot simply erase with the stroke of a pen,” Neronha wrote.
Beatrice Pulliam, deputy director of the Providence Public Library, explained that the IMLS “provides fundamental operational support through the State Office of Library and Information Services, which supports the delivery system of books around the state.”
Eliminating IMLS funding would impact multiple libraries, as well as “thousands” of books that get delivered across the state every day, Pulliam added.
Nina Pande, executive director of Rhode Island Small Business HUB, explained that the federal government’s attempt to dismantle these federal agencies was “a major blow, because they provide critical access to information.”
Since Rhode Island Small Business HUB relies partially on grants from the MBDA, the organization has already seen significant impacts, Pande said. “So many agencies like ours … who focus on economic mobility, whether it’s through small business development or workforce development” are in “jeopardy.”
“The federal government’s illegal attack on these agencies threatened vital resources for workers, small businesses, and the most vulnerable in our communities,” wrote New York Attorney General Letitia James, who co-led the suit along with Neronha and the attorney general of Hawaii, in a statement to The Herald.
But many community organizations still remain apprehensive about the future of funding.
Even with the injunction, “the fear of losing that funding is significant enough to cause a lot of concern about the future,” Pulliam added.
Pande explained that while the injunction protects the money currently in the market, “existing funds … will soon be exhausted, and no new opportunities will be available.”
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
