Attorney General Ford Wins Lawsuit Stopping Elimination of Four Vital Federal Agencies

Carson City, NV — Nevada Attorney General Aaron D. Ford announced last Friday that he won his lawsuit protecting four federal agencies from being illegally dismantled by the Trump administration. The United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island today granted a motion for summary judgment brought by Attorney General Ford and a coalition of 20 other attorneys general. In April, Attorney General Ford joined 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 thrilled with the court’s decision to protect these four vital agencies from being illegally dismantled,” said Attorney General Ford. “The Trump administration does not have the right to eliminate agencies that were created by Congress. This decision upholds the necessary divisions of power in the federal government and protects the work these agencies do on behalf of Nevadans.”

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

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