Advocacy Alert – November 24, 2025

New Ruling in IMLS Court Case

On November 21, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island granted a permanent injunction in Rhode Island vs Trump stating attempts to dismantle the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) were unlawful, unconstitutional, and in direct violation of Congress’s clear statutory directives. The injunction prevents the Administration from further carrying out the Executive Order relating to IMLS and vacates the Administration’s actions.

This decision impacts all states and not just the 21 states apart of the initial ruling. The Administration is likely to appeal the ruling.

It is unclear how this ruling will impact IMLS staffing or grants as well as the hearing scheduled for oral arguments set for December 4 in the First Circuit Court of Appeal.

While this is a victory, the fight is not over. Congress still needs to appropriate funds to the agency for FY26.

Appropriations Update

The Senate is planning to do a package of various Appropriations Bills to fund multiple agencies. The bill was originally discussed as possibly being considered on the Senate floor last week, however, due to the short week and several other factors, consideration of the package has been delayed. The Appropriations bill that includes IMLS was discussed to be a part of the package. However, that particular bill also includes the Department of Education, which the Administration announced efforts to dismantle that agency last week. This may very well have an impact on whether that particular bill continues to be part of the package or not.

Draft versions of the House and Senate Appropriations bills that include funding for IMLS have proposed only minor decreases despite the President’s Budget proposal to eliminate the agency.

With that said, it is important to continue to contact Congress about funding IMLS for FY26, especially with the court’s recent ruling.