Two major efforts to resist the Trump administration’s cuts to U.S. cultural agencies advanced on Thursday. A coalition of academic groups filed a lawsuit to stop what they called the “illegal dismantling” of the National Endowment for the Humanities, while a federal judge issued an emergency order temporarily blocking similar cuts to the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

The American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS), the American Historical Association (AHA), and the Modern Language Association (MLA) filed a lawsuit on Thursday, May 1, to stop what they call the “illegal dismantling” of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). In April, the Trump administration announced major cuts at NEH, including a 70–80 percent staff reduction and cancelation of more than 1,000 Biden-era grants.

“These moves threaten the future of American research into history, literature, languages, philosophy, politics, society, and culture,” said the ACLS, AHA, and MLA in a joint statement. “They restrict Americans’ ability to understand our national history and experiences.”

Photo: Shutterstock.

The lawsuit names acting NEH chairman Michael McDonald, the NEH, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and three DOGE employees—Amy Gleason, Nate Cavanaugh, and Justin Fox—as defendants.

Created in 1956 as a federal agency, NEH has awarded over $6 billion in funding and has supported the humanities in every state and U.S. jurisdiction, though its budget represents one one-hundredth of one percent of the federal budget, the plaintiffs pointed out. 

“The NEH’s recent actions and the administration’s refusal to distribute funds appropriated by Congress violate the law in multiple ways: they fail to provide reasoning for the NEH’s actions, disregard the constitutional separation of powers, and, by refusing to spend appropriations as legally required, ignore the Impoundment Control Act of 1974,” said the plaintiffs.

“Since it was established, with strong bipartisan congressional support, the NEH has exemplified the value and need for the humanities in a vibrant democracy,” said ACLS President Joy Connolly in press materials. “Its thoughtful grant-making and partnerships are vital to education, libraries, cultural institutions, and community initiatives that study local history and more. Deep cuts to the programs and staff of the NEH will deprive communities in every state of resources that enhance their quality of life and will hold back the progress of thousands of scholars. It will signal the federal government’s turn away from the civic values it has long espoused.”

Elsewhere, defenders of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) notched a legal victory on the same day.

Offices at the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

U.S. District Judge Richard Leon granted a short-term emergency order on Thursday that blocks the Trump administration from dismantling the IMLS, reported WUSA9, in Washington, D.C. The cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) placed the agency’s 75-person staff on leave March 31; the American Libraries Association brought a suit to stop the administration in April. Shuttering the agency “contravenes” Congress and will likely cause permanent harms that courts cannot reverse, said the judge. 

“Plaintiffs have established that the grant terminations, loss of access to IMLS expertise and services, and loss of access to IMLS data have forced libraries to end programs midstream, fire employees and, in some cases, completely shutter,” wrote Leon, a George W. Bush appointee. “These are not merely economic harms.” 

Established in 1996, IMLS brought together the Institute of Museum Services (founded in 1976) and the Library Programs Office (part of the Department of Education since 1956). Congress appropriated between $230 million and $457 million for the agency between fiscal years 2016 and 2024; $280 million was requested for fiscal year 2025. In a call to salvage the Institute, the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) pointed out that IMLS accounts for just 0.0046 percent of the overall federal budget.

Leon barred DOGE and acting IMLS head Keith E. Sonderling from taking further actions to dissolve IMLS or place any more staff on leave, and prohibited IMLS from pausing or canceling any additional grants or contracts.

“We appreciate that Judge Leon’s ruling stops the further destruction of IMLS and saves, at least for now, the dedicated staff members and their families from the incredible disruption to their lives caused by an unprecedented and frankly illegal firing,” said the American Federation of Government Employees Local 3403 in a statement to Artnet News.