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San Francisco Chronicle
08-05-2025
- Business
- San Francisco Chronicle
California libraries spared, for now, from Trump cuts
President Donald Trump's order to slash federal funds for libraries, museums and minority business development programs has been blocked by a federal judge. California's state librarian said the cutbacks would end programs for the needy and those with physical or mental disabilities, and would impact every user in the state. In a nationwide injunction Tuesday, Chief U.S. District Judge John McConnell of Rhode Island said Trump had no legal authority to eliminate congressionally approved funding for the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services, the Minority Business Development Agency and the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. Trump's Justice Department argued that the president is entitled to fund programs according to his 'priorities.' But McConnell said the cutbacks 'usurped Congress' lawmaking and spending authority' that are protected in the Constitution. Over the past few months, the judge wrote, the defunding 'has disrupted numerous critical state library and museum services and programs, impeded the resolution of time-sensitive labor disputes involving State entities, and curtailed broad-ranging training, consultation, and technical assistance services and programs and facilitate the growth of minority business enterprises.' None of the agencies has offered 'any reasonable explanation' for its actions, McConnell said. The judge cited California State Librarian Greg Lucas's statement that the loss of federal funds would 'stop statewide and local public library programs immediately' and would reduce or halt programs serving seniors, veterans, English learners, and the blind and visually impaired. Lucas, in a sworn declaration to the court, said the Trump administration notified the State Library on April 2 that its $15.7 million federal grant for the next fiscal year had been terminated. 'Any pause in our federal funding … effectively ends programs that local librarians and the 23 million Californians with library cards rely on,' Lucas said. 'Without federal funding, no coordinated upskilling or continuing education exists for the approximately 17,000 employees of California who staff the State's 1,127 libraries.' Also at stake, Lucas said, were services for 'lower-income families, seniors and veterans who rely on libraries to help them navigate an increasingly digital world,' and 'Braille and other free services to the 800,000 Californians who are blind, visually impaired or dyslexic.' He told the Chronicle that on Tuesday, before the judge's order, federal officials had notified California and other states that, contrary to the previous cancellation of funds, they would receive half of the U.S. funding they had been promised for the upcoming fiscal year. That would be an improvement, Lucas said, but the state would still have "no money for all the local assistance we used to do." Nationally, McConnell said in his ruling, the library agency has reduced its staff from 77 to 12, according to its most recent report. He quoted an unidentified employee as saying the agency is not awarding new funds to states and plans to cut off most of its existing grants. California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who filed the suit along with other states, welcomed the ruling and said the Trump administration 'is attempting to dismantle critical federal agencies without any consideration for the Americans that rely on the programs and services these agencies provide.' In response to the ruling, Justice Department spokesperson Natalie Baldassarre said the department "has vigorously defended President Trump's executive actions, including the order to Reduce the Federal Bureaucracy, and will continue to do so.' The administration could ask a federal appeals court to lift McConnell's injunction and could later appeal to the Supreme Court, which last month allowed Trump's Department of Education to cut off more than 100 grants of funding for teacher training, aimed at programs that promoted inclusion of minorities and women. The Minority Business Development Agency, part of the Commerce Department, seeks to aid and promote businesses owned by racial and ethnic minorities and was established under a law signed by President Richard Nixon in 1969. McConnell said its 'workforce has been reduced to zero.' The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service is a small, independent agency, established in 1947, that provides mediation in labor disputes and says on its website that its goal is 'fostering collaborative labor-management relationships' through training and other assistance. McConnell said the agency announced April 18 that its services were no longer available.
The Herald Scotland
07-05-2025
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
Judge blocks Trump from closing agency that funds museums, libraries
"This executive order ... ignores the unshakable principles that Congress makes the law and appropriates funds, and the Executive implements the law Congress enacted and spends the funds Congress appropriated," wrote McConnell, an appointee of Democratic former President Barack Obama. More: Federal museum and library grants abruptly terminated The judge halted Trump's order from being implemented at the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services, the Minority Business Development Agency, and the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service pending the outcome of the case. McConnell did not order the agencies to take any specific steps. The judge told the states to consult with the Trump administration and submit a more detailed order for his approval. Trump in his order directed that those agencies and four others be reduced "to the minimum presence and function required by law." A judge in Washington, D.C. last week had separately blocked the museum and library agency from being shut down. More: Libraries are under siege: How Trump's cuts put community hubs in peril The White House and the office of Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha, which is leading the lawsuit, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Trump's executive order was part of his broader effort to dramatically shrink the federal government and slash government spending. Tens of thousands of federal workers have been fired, placed on leave indefinitely or accepted buyouts to leave their jobs. At the three agencies involved in Tuesday's case, virtually all employees were placed on administrative leave shortly after Trump issued his executive order, according to court filings. The states in their lawsuit filed in April say that because Congress created the agencies and set their funding levels, Trump had no power to order that their work be halted. McConnell on Tuesday agreed. Federal law includes a mechanism for the president to return unneeded funding to Congress, the judge said, but Trump failed to follow that process. State libraries and museums have abandoned programs and implemented hiring freezes, business development offices are curbing training and other support programs, and state agencies have fewer options to mediate disputes with unions, McConnell said.
