Government

On Friday, a Federal Court issued a permanent injunction halting the destruction of the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The ruling by United States District Court chief judge John J. McConnell, Jr. immediately nullifies all actions that the Trump Administration took to dismantle the agency, and blocks them from being imposed in the future. Twenty-one states filed a lawsuit against the president for his efforts to eliminate the IMLS and as well as the Minority Business Development Agency, the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, and the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness. In March, an executive order withheld appropriated funds […]

A federal appeals court has denied the Trump administration’s request to pause a lawsuit, in which 21 states sued the president over his plan to eliminate the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The decision upholds a lower court’s ruling in May, which put a preliminary injunction on the executive order to dismantle the IMLS and two other agencies. In his opinion, Judge David J. Barron noted that lawyers for the president didn’t successfully argue against the District Court’s decision. The opinion also says that they did not convince the court that they “are likely to succeed on the merits of […]

Copyright Office director Shira Perlmutter, who was removed by the Trump administration in May, will have her job temporarily reinstated while her lawsuit over her firing moves forward. In July, a district court judge denied her request for a preliminary injunction to go back to her position. In a 2-1 decision, Judges Pan and Childs of the DC Circuit Court of Appeals called her case “unusual” and “extraordinary,” noting that “the President’s removal of Perlmutter was likely unlawful.” Perlmutter has argued that, as a legislative employee, the executive branch does not have the power to fire her. The filing continues, […]

The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has denied former copyright office director Shira Perlmutter’s request for a preliminary injunction that would have reinstated her to her position while her lawsuit over her firing continues. Perlmutter filed suit against the Trump administration, claiming that the president doesn’t have the authority to remove her position, since it’s part of the Legislative Branch. In May, Judge Timothy J. Kelly denied Perlmutter’s request for a temporary restraining order that would have blocked her firing. In his ruling on Wednesday, Kelly disagreed with Perlmutter that her removal would cause her “irreparable harm,” […]

Authors and organizations that lost their National Endowment for the Humanities grants won a symbolic victory in Federal Court on Friday. Consistent with rulings from all but about six of the most senior members of the Federal bench, in Authors Guild v. NEH SDNY Judge Colleen McMahon recognized that our government has multiple branches and found that the early April “Mass Cancellation of grants previously awarded” was likely in violation of the First Amendment and the Administrative Procedure, directly in opposition to what Congress had intended and authorized. Judge McMahon entered a preliminary injunction that will at least keep “any […]