Twenty-one Democratic state attorneys general sued President Trump Friday over his executive order that aims to eliminate seven federal agencies.
The suit focuses on three of those agencies — the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the Minority Business Development Agency and the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service — claiming the closures violate the separation of powers.
“President Trump is leading a campaign to dismantle vast swaths of the federal government. He has directed agencies to freeze the expenditure of funds appropriated by Congress, orchestrated the mass firings of federal probationary employees without following the requisite statutory procedures, and ordered agency after agency established by Congress…to be shut down,” the complaint reads.
“But whatever the President’s policy preferences, he cannot override the congressional enactments that authorize federal agencies, appropriate funds for them to administer, and define how they must operate,” it continues.
Trump signed the order on March 14, directing the seven entities to “be eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law” and report compliance within seven days.
Multiple lawsuits have already challenged the dismantling of one of the targets, the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which is the parent company of Voice of America.
But the new lawsuit is the first challenge to the efforts at some of the other agencies, which provide funding to libraries, museums, minority-owned businesses and mediation services for labor disputes.
Filed in federal court in Rhode Island, it was assigned to U.S. District Judge John McConnell, an appointee of former President Obama who has already drawn the ire of Trump’s allies for ruling against the administration in an existing lawsuit concerning freezes in federal grants.
The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment.
The attorneys general said the closures threaten hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of grant funding to their states already appropriated by Congress.
“Those appropriations pay for the agencies to continue operating at full strength through the end of the fiscal year. The Executive may not decline to spend those funds by slashing the agencies’ staff to the bare minimum, shuttering most of their offices and programs, and refusing to use or disburse the money that Congress appropriated,” the complaint reads.
The coalition is co-led by Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha (D), New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) and Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez, who is a Democrat, though the office is technically nonpartisan.
The other states suing are Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.
It marks the third time in 24 hours that Democratic-led states have sued the Trump administration. Attorneys general sued earlier in the day over cuts to research grants, and on Thursday, a group of states sued over Trump’s executive order aimed at strengthening proof-of-citizenship requirements to vote.
