Rules that vague justifications not sufficient
A federal judge on Tuesday (May 13) temporarily barred the Trump administration from shrinking an agency that funds public libraries.
Judge John McConnell Jr. said Trump can’t end funding and programs through an executive order for the Institute of Museum and Library Services or two other small agencies created by Congress. McConnell said the agency heads were not able to provide more than vague justifications for the cuts.
Twenty-one states sued over Trump’s March 14 order, which directed the agencies to eliminate every program that isn’t mandated by law and to cut staff to a bare minimum. The federal ruling is consistent with one handed down last week in a lawsuit filed by the American Library Association and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.
