Federal court blocks Trump from dismantling four agencies

by Dave Mason, The Center Square, Nov 24, 2025

(The Center Square) – A federal court has issued a permanent injunction stopping the Trump administration from dismantling four federal agencies that deal with issues varying from libraries to homelessness.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island ruled the executive branch violated the Administrative Procedure Act, as well as the U.S. Constitution's Take Care Clause and Separation of Powers doctrine, when it tried to dismantle the federally funded agencies without congressional approval. The agencies are the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the Minority Business Development Agency, the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, and the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness. Separation of Powers gives Congress control over federal spending, and the Take Care Clause entrusts the president with enforcing Congress' laws.

The court's ruling came in a lawsuit filed by Democratic attorneys general from California, New York, Arizona, Rhode Island, Hawaii, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, Washington state and Wisconsin. The lead plaintiffs were Attorneys General Letitia James of New York, Anne Lopez of Hawaii and Peter Neronha of Rhode Island. 

The district court ruling blocks the federal government from dismantling four of the seven agencies listed in President Donald Trump’s March 14 executive order, “Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureacracy."

“This case concerns the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle federal agencies that are responsible for, among other things, funding museums and libraries, mediating labor disputes, supporting minority-owned businesses, and preventing and ending homelessness in the United States,” U.S. District Court Chief Judge John J. McConnell Jr. wrote Friday in the ruling. “By now, the question presented in this case is a familiar one: may the Executive Branch undertake such actions in circumvention of the will of the Legislative Branch? In recent months, this Court — along with other courts across the country — has concluded that it may not. That answer remains the same here.”

The lawsuit was filed on April 4. The U.S. District Court for Rhode Island issued a preliminary injunction against the Trump administration’s dismantling of the agencies on May 13. On Sept. 11, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit denied the Trump administration’s stay on the injunction pending its appeal.

In the new ruling, McConnell said the federal government is barred from acting to dismantle the agencies. 

Democratic attorneys general applauded the court’s 47-page ruling.

“The federal government’s illegal attack on these agencies threatened vital resources for workers, small businesses, and the most vulnerable in our communities,” said James in New York in a news release.

“More and more, courts are rejecting — definitively and permanently — the Trump Administration’s illegal efforts to dismantle our government agencies and strip away the vital services they provide,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a news release.

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes noted judges, often conservative ones, are siding with attorneys general in their lawsuits against Trump. 

Washington state Attorney General Nick Brown said in a statement that the ruling “reaffirms that the President can’t reverse the will of the people and their elected representatives with the stroke of a pen.”

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HAWAIʻI LEADS COALITION TO VICTORY IN LAWSUIT STOPPING ELIMINATION OF FOUR VITAL AGENCIES

Court Bars Dismantling of Federal Agencies Supporting Libraries, Museums, the Unhoused, Minority-Owned Businesses and Successful Labor Mediation

News Release 2025-95 from Hawaii Attorney General, November 21, 2025

HONOLULU – In a suit led by the Hawaiʻi Department of the Attorney General, the state of Hawaiʻi today won its lawsuit protecting four federal agencies from being illegally dismantled by the federal administration. The United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island today granted a motion for summary judgment brought by Attorney General Anne Lopez and a coalition of 20 other attorneys general. 

In April, Hawaiʻi, Rhode Island and New York 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.

“I am extremely pleased with the result of this lawsuit, which protects so many different aspects of civil society in our state,” said Attorney General Lopez. “In litigating this suit, we received tremendous support throughout the state — from government partners like the Hawaiʻi State Public Library System and the University of Hawaiʻi, to employer and labor organizations, along with others who be significantly impacted by the dismantling of these agencies.”

Attorney General Lopez continued, “I would like to thank them and Governor Green for their tireless support in our efforts in leading a national coalition to fight for our state and nation and the people of Hawaiʻi. I would also like to recognize my litigation team, which has worked tirelessly representing Hawaiʻi for the past months, including leading on the drafting of the motion for summary judgment — Deputy Solicitors General Caitlyn Carpenter and Thomas Hughes, Solicitor General Kalikoʻonālani Fernandes and Special Assistant to the Attorney General Dave Day, along with Compliance Officer emeritus Michael Kron.”

Stacey Aldrich, Hawaiʻi State Library stated, “I'm very grateful to the Attorney General for taking on this important case, which supported the importance of our nation’s investment in our libraries and museums through the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Both institutions play a crucial role in connecting us all to information, ideas, our history and each other.”

“The Statewide Office on Homelessness and Housing Solutions is committed to addressing the homelessness emergency in Hawaiʻi, which requires local, state and national innovation,” said Jun Yang, the Governor’s Homeless Coordinator, who serves as head of the Hawaiʻi Interagency Council on Homelessness. “We look forward to working constructively with the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness on solutions for our state.”

“Today’s Court decision to keep the Administration from dismantling these important agencies is welcomed news,” said University of Hawaiʻi Interim Vice President for Research and Innovation Chad Walton. “We are deeply grateful to our Attorney General and her team of attorneys who led the efforts of the 21-state coalition in this case, to defend the interests of the University and our state.” The University of Hawaiʻi receives significant support from IMLS and MBDA.

In April, Attorney General Lopez 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 Lopez 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 Lopez 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 Lopez 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 was brought by the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaiʻi, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.

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