FAQ: Executive Order Targeting IMLS

Updated December 17, 2025

.

On December 3, 2025, following a federal court ruling in Rhode Island in November, the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) announced the reinstatement of all previously canceled federal grants. This page will continue to be updated in the coming months with more information as ALA assesses the impacts of these developments.

.

On March 14, President Trump issued an Executive Order intended to dismantle the only federal agency dedicated to funding library services, IMLS, as well as six other agencies. This set of frequently asked questions is intended to help library workers, library advocates, and library users understand this Executive Order.

.

What does this Executive Order do?

Executive Order 14238 directed that seven agencies, including the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), be eliminated to the maximum extent of the law and the agencies are ordered to reduce their services and personnel to the minimum amount required to perform the functions required by law.

The announcement also ordered the federal budget agency, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to reject any budget requests from IMLS (and the other six named agencies) other than funds needed to shut down the agency.

Is IMLS being eliminated?

The clear intent of the Executive Order, as stated in the language of the order, is to eliminate IMLS. After the Executive Order was issued, the Administration took several steps to dismantle IMLS, several of which were eventually blocked by a judget. This includes:

• Terminating grants.
• Terminating contracts.
• Appointing Acting Director Kevin Sonderling, who stated that he will act "in lockstep" with the Administration.
• Reportedly putting all but 12 of the agency's staff of approximately 75 employees on paid administrative leave and sending staff a notice of an agency-wide reduction in force to take place May 4, 2025.

In addition, the order directed OMB to reject funding requests from IMLS “except insofar as necessary to effectuate an expected termination” of the agency. 

On May 2, 2025, President Trump’s FY26 budget request proposed to eliminate IMLS. The President’s budget request has no legal effect, but it proposes funding levels for Congress to consider when it writes annual government funding (“appropriations”) bills. The Trump Administration proposed eliminating IMLS in all four years of his previous term, and Congress rejected those proposals at the time. ALA is calling on Congress to do so again and to protect funding for IMLS. ALA urges library supporters to contact their Congressmembers in support of IMLS funding.

.

What statutes apply to IMLS?

The Museum and Library Services Act (MLSA) is the law that established IMLS. MLSA codifies the agency’s programs under the Library Services & Technology Act (LSTA) and the Museum Services Act, as well as other agency activities like data collection and the National Museum and Library Services Board. MLSA also recommends a funding level for IMLS and agency program although the Appropriations Committees are not required to follow that funding level. MLSA was first enacted in 1996 and has been reauthorized on a bipartisan basis several times since then – most recently in 2018, which was signed into law by President Trump.

Appropriations laws also apply to IMLS. Congress provides funding to IMLS annually through appropriations laws, most recently in the law enacted on March 15, 2025. These laws direct federal agencies to spend the appropriated funding to carry out the specified programs and activities, and sometimes provide further directions to the agencies.

Additionally, some provisions of law apply across all or several federal agencies, including IMLS. For instance, all executive agencies are required to comply with and implement the Freedom of Information Act. In addition, all federally funded education programs (which is considered to include libraries and museums) must comply with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. 

.

What happens now that the Museum and Library Services Act (MLSA) authorization has expired?

The 2018 MLSA authorized spending levels through October 1, 2025. However, Congress can continue to provide funding – and if funded, IMLS can continue to operate – past this time. Congress has continued to fund IMLS during prior lapses in authorization: for instance, the prior MLSA authorized spending levels through October 2016, and the current MLSA was not signed into law until December 2018, more than two years later. In fact, Congress has continued to fund numerous agencies and programs whose authorizations expired decades ago.  

.