US judge blocks Trump from shuttering three federal agencies
Source: Reuters
May 6, 2025 3:13 PM EDT Updated 34 min ago
May 6 (Reuters) - A federal judge on Tuesday blocked President Donald Trump's administration from firing workers and taking other steps to shut down federal agencies that fund museums and libraries, mediate labor disputes and support minority-owned businesses. U.S. District Judge John McConnell in Providence, Rhode Island, agreed with 21 mostly Democrat-led states that Trump's March executive order directing that the agencies effectively be wiped out violated the U.S. Constitution.
"This executive order ... ignores the unshakable principles that Congress makes the law and appropriates funds, and the Executive implements the law Congress enacted and spends the funds Congress appropriated," wrote McConnell, an appointee of Democratic former President Barack Obama.
The judge halted Trump's order from being implemented at the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services, the Minority Business Development Agency, and the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service pending the outcome of the case. McConnell did not order the agencies to take any specific steps. The judge told the states to consult with the Trump administration and submit a more detailed order for his approval. Trump in his order directed that those agencies and four others be reduced "to the minimum presence and function required by law.”
A judge in Washington, D.C. last week had separately blocked the museum and library agency from being shut down. The White House and the office of Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha, which is leading the lawsuit, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-judge-blocks-trump-shuttering-three-federal-agencies-2025-05-06/
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