Trump Overstepped His Authority By Dismantling the IMLS; Can Be Sued by Comptroller General

This week, the Government Accountability Office concluded that the Trump administration violated the 1974 Impound Control Act (ICA) by gutting the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The ICA permits a President to withhold obligated funds only under strict and limited circumstances. The ICA is a tool of federal checks and balances, ensuring that the legislation passed by Congress is executed by the President as signed. Violations of the ICA are subject to legal ramifications by the US Comptroller General.

The Government Accountability Office, an independent, nonpartisan agency of the US legislative branch that audits the federal government, found that the administration violated the ICA in two ways: first, by withholding funds from obligations and expenditures, and second, by withholding funds that could not be withheld.

Despite several requests for information about how funding has been impacted by the President’s March 15, 2025, Executive Order that impacted the IMLS, the agency responded to none of the Government Accountability Office’s requests. The Office first asked for information from the IMLS with a deadline of May 5 and received no response. They sent another request, with a new deadline of May 12. Still, the IMLS offered no response.

The Office still found enough evidence to come to a conclusion. From their report:

Given our statutory duty to report impoundments to Congress and the absence of a response from IMLS, we have based this decision upon publicly available evidence. Because that evidence indicates that IMLS withheld appropriated funds from obligation and expenditure, and because the burden to justify such withholdings rests with IMLS and the executive branch, we conclude that IMLS violated the ICA by withholding funds from obligation and expenditure, as well as by withholding funds that could not be withheld for any reason under the ICA’s fourth disclaimer.

The President has no Constitutional authority to withhold IMLS funds from obligation. Of course, this has not stopped the current administration from doing so, but this decision from the Government Accountability Office is yet another reminder of the regime’s unprecedented actions.

The Government Accountability Office found that the IMLS made unconstitutional cuts, including about 1,200 competitive grants in March, amounting to about $75.8 million. Acting IMLS Director Keith Sonderling also cut between four and five million to contractors and reduced staffing levels to the point that the agency’s monthly closes were reduced by $900,000.

“Using Acting Director Sonderling’s figures, this would represent a decrease of roughly $93,300,000 in annual spending for activities other than Grants to States, which leaves $21,500,000, or about 19% of the $114,800,000 that Congress directed for such activities in FY 2025,” reads the report. “While there is no numeric threshold for an ICA violation, the obligation of roughly 19% does not suggest a reasonable attempt by the agency to carry out the purposes of the appropriation.”

In other words, nearly half of the budget allocated to the IMLS has been slashed.

The Government Accountability Office testified earlier this spring to Congress that they’ve opened nearly 40 impoundment investigations against the Trump administration. Finding that the IMLS is violating the Impoundment Control Act authorizes the Comptroller General to file suit against the president for illegally withholding funds.

The IMLS budget represents a mere .005% of the federal budget. The Government Accountability Office’s report emphasizes that the administration has failed to justify its cuts to Congress, which holds the power of the purse. Given that the 2026 proposed budget shuts down the IMLS altogether, whether or not this will matter remains the big question, especially given the two lawsuits brought before the administration for its actions.

U.S. Senator Patty Murphy, Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chair, said the following about the report:

President Trump may not like the fact that Congress has, on a bipartisan basis, invested in helping kids learn at their local library—but that does not change the fact that he himself signed these investments into law, and they need to start flowing immediately. The president’s funding freeze isn’t just illegal; every day it continues, it hurts real people and communities across our country who are suffering the consequences as investments they count on get choked off.

The administration is currently involved in two federal lawsuits about the dismantling of the IMLS, Rhode Island vs. Trump and ALA vs. Sonderling.

This document keeps you updated on the latest developments in the dismantling of the IMLS, the only federal US agency dedicated to public libraries and museums. It includes several pages of links to stories about the impact of these funding cuts on state and local libraries nationwide, including the dozens of layoffs currently happening in State Libraries.