New York (AP) – President Donald Trump has appointed a novel acting director for the Institute for Museum and Library Services, one of seven independent government agencies that have recently been cited in a recently carried out order of the executive order in which they have “to be reduced to the maximum extent of the law”.
Trump said that the command “continues the reduction of the elements of the German bureaucracy that the President has determined are unnecessary.”
Trump has closed agencies or drastically restricted since taking office, including the consumer financing office and the US Agency for International Development. The Institute for Museum and Library of Services (IMLS) is an vital source of financing for museums, libraries and educational institutions.
What is the Institute for Museum and Library Services?
IMLS was founded in 1996 by a Congress led by Republicans and has the mission “to support and strengthen, support and strengthen the America’s museums, libraries and related organizations through scholarship, research and political development”. The institute combined the services of former government agencies, including the National Commission for Libraries and Information Science and the Institute for Museum Services.
It has distributed thousands of grants nationwide, which have been a total of more than $ 200 million a year in recent years. The awards in 2024 were between 240,000 US dollars for the Chicago History Museum and more than 1 million US dollars for several training programs from the State Library, which were named for the former Republican First Lady Laura Bush, up to almost 25,000 US dollars for the Lorain Historical Society, which in the hometown of Nobel Laureat Toni Morrison is based in Ohio.
A Bush spokesman declined a comment.
Who is the novel director?
The novel incumbent director Keith Sonderling was recently confirmed as deputy secretary of the Ministry of Labor and from 2020 to 2024 was a commissioner of the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. He replaces Cyndee Landrum, who was appointed deputy in March 2024.
“I am obliged to steer this organization with this administration in Lockstep to improve efficiency and promote innovations,” said Sondery in a statement after his appointment on Thursday. “We will revive the IMLs and restore the focus on patriotism to ensure that we protect the basic values of our country, promote the American state of emergency and promote love for the country in future generations.”
Has the IMLS ever been targeted?
During his first term, Trump repeatedly demanded that the IMLs be closed, but the financing was maintained by the congress. The American Library Association condemned in a statement this week “the only federal authority that is dedicated to the financing library services.
What happens now?
The library association advised the members that the status of the current grants is still unclear. If the administration follows the same playbook that contains it to other petite agencies for the closure when aligned, IMLS could be closed.
The US peace institute was one of four agencies that Trump had to be closed last month to reduce the size of the government. On Monday, the Department of Government of Government of Government took control of the Usip headquarters in Washington and used the law enforcement authorities to accompany the employees of the independent Think tank from the building. Former USIP board members sued the administration to stop the takeover, but a judge refused to block the administration measures immediately on Wednesday.
In the past few weeks, Doge employees have also moved quickly to dismiss employees, end grants and contracts and to remove the managers from two other agencies that have invested in petite companies in Africa and Latin America and in the Caribbean. Former board members and leaders of these organizations also sued, but a judge decided that it was legal to remove most of the US African Development Foundation.
