Museum Grants Reinstated After Federal Court Ruling

The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) began reinstating grants today, Wednesday, May 21, that were previously revoked by the Trump administration via the formerly Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The renewal of funds follows a major federal lawsuit, filed by a coalition of attorneys general representing 21 states, against Trump’s March executive order seeking to dismantle the IMLS and other organizations deemed “unnecessary,” including the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in the Smithsonian Institution.

Obama-appointed federal Judge John McConnell ruled that Trump’s executive order violated the Administrative Procedures Act, thus disregarding “unshakeable principles that Congress makes law and appropriates funds,” and enjoined the IMLS from executing the mandate. The ruling, a preliminary injunction, is a significant federal court-ordered reversal of sweeping cuts to government arts and culture funding felt by organizations across the United States.

McConnell additionally ordered the IMLS to reinstate all employees that had been terminated or placed on leave following the executive action. According to the union representing IMLS workers, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 3403, the agency’s entire staff was placed on leave. The union also estimated in April that thousands of grants were terminated as part of the Trump-mandated downsizing. 

McConnell gave the federal government seven days to comply with his ruling, a deadline that passed yesterday. 

In a four-sentence letter emailed to recipients this morning, a copy of which was reviewed by Hyperallergic, IMLS acting director Keith Sonderling notified grantees that their award was being restored in accordance with the court’s preliminary injunction. Organizations are not out of the woods yet, however, as a line in the email also informs recipients of a pending appeal that “may affect the reinstatement of your grant in the future.”

Hyperallergic has contacted the IMLS for comment.

Among the institutions that learned of their IMLS grant reinstatement today is the West End Museum in Boston, dedicated to preserving the culture and living archives of the historically diverse neighborhood. Executive Director Sebastian A. Belfanti told Hyperallergic that about a third of the two-year $75,000 award from IMLS had been disbursed by the time he learned of its cancellation last month.

While organizations are relieved to receive the news, they also continue to navigate a rapidly changing federal funding landscape that makes it difficult to plan ahead.

“We are glad that this IMLS grant, which supports a majority of the Museum’s educational programs, has been reinstated,” Belfanti told Hyperallergic. “However, uncertainty remains. While reinstatement will help our work move forward, the reality that the funds could disappear again without warning makes this more of a reprieve than a resolution.”

The West End Museum also lost a $25,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to study the community’s LGBTQ+ presence and activism, which Belfanti says has not been restored. 

The Japanese American National Museum (JANM) in Los Angeles, which publicly defended its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the face of funding cuts, also confirmed to Hyperallergic that the IMLS has reinstated a $750,000 grant to install a new HVAC system to improve collection care. 

The JANM also lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in NEH funding last month, but was then awarded $349,920 from the same agency for digitization efforts in a more recent award cycle.

“This does not change the fact that grant programs that fund education, preservation, and other programs have been completely eliminated, devastating humanities and arts programs in countless communities, nor the ongoing efforts to suppress voices labeled as DEI in arts and education,” JANM President Ann Burroughs told Hyperallergic.

The recent preliminary injunction is the second recent legal victory for IMLS workers as the courts remain one of the few bulwarks against the administration.

On May 2, a federal court granted a temporary restraining order blocking Trump from gutting the agency in response to a lawsuit brought by the American Library Association (ALA) and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), effectively halting layoffs planned for the agency as part of Trump’s dismantlement plan. 

The Trump administration has proposed eliminating the agency alongside the National Endowment for the Arts and NEH in its 2026 budget proposal, months after it appointed Department of Labor Deputy Secretary Keith Sonderling to lead the organization to “restore focus on patriotism.”