A federal court in Rhode Island has issued a permanent injunction blocking the Trump administration from dismantling four federal agencies that support public libraries, museums, organized labor, small businesses, and organizations working with the homeless. The court determined that the administration “acted without constitutional or statutory authority” in its efforts to eliminate these agencies.
Attorney General Peter F. Neronha commented on the decision: “In courts across the country and here in Rhode Island, we continue to find that we are right on the law and right on the principle. Each of these agencies serve a vital role that the President cannot simply erase with the stroke of a pen. With this order, these four agencies can continue to serve our communities, whether through your neighborhood library, labor dispute arbitration, or support for small businesses. In each case we bring against this Administration, we are standing up for Rhode Islanders to preserve the resources they rely on, and we will continue to do so every time Rhode Islanders’ rights are threatened.”
The ruling is part of ongoing multistate litigation and follows an earlier preliminary injunction against similar actions by the Trump administration.
Attorney General Neronha co-led this lawsuit alongside Attorney General Letitia James of New York and Attorney General Anne Lopez of Hawaii. Attorneys general from Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin also joined as plaintiffs.
