In a suit led by the Hawaiʻi Department of the Attorney General, the state of Hawaiʻi won its lawsuit protecting four federal agencies from being illegally dismantled by the federal administration.
The United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island today granted a motion for summary judgment brought by Attorney General Anne Lopez and a coalition of 20 other attorneys general.
In April, Hawaiʻi, Rhode Island and New York led 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).
Attorney General Lopez 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.
The court’s order permanently blocks the administration from eliminating these four agencies.
“I am extremely pleased with the result of this lawsuit, which protects so many different aspects of civil society in our state,” said Attorney General Lopez.
“In litigating this suit, we received tremendous support throughout the state — from government partners like the Hawaiʻi State Public Library System and the University of Hawaiʻi, to employer and labor organizations, along with others who be significantly impacted by the dismantling of these agencies.”
Stacey Aldrich, Hawaiʻi State Library stated, “I’m very grateful to the Attorney General for taking on this important case, which supported the importance of our nation’s investment in our libraries and museums through the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Both institutions play a crucial role in connecting us all to information, ideas, our history and each other.”
“Today’s Court decision to keep the Administration from dismantling these important agencies is welcomed news,” said University of Hawaiʻi Interim Vice President for Research and Innovation Chad Walton. “We are deeply grateful to our Attorney General and her team of attorneys who led the efforts of the 21-state coalition in this case, to defend the interests of the University and our state.” The University of Hawaiʻi receives significant support from IMLS and MBDA.
In May, Attorney General Lopez 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 Lopez 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 Lopez 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 the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaiʻi, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.
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