Key Updates
Continues reduction of federal government by requiring the following entities to reduce their performances to the minimum required by law: the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service; the United States Agency for Global Media; the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in the Smithsonian Institution; the Institute of Museum and Library Services; the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness; the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund; and the Minority Business Development Agency. Within 7 days of the date of this order, the head of each governmental entity listed shall submit a report to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget confirming full compliance with this order and explaining which components or functions of the governmental entity, if any, are statutorily required and to what extent.
Legal Challenges
| Date Complaint Filed | March 18, 2025 |
| Venue | U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia |
| Summary |
Plaintiff is seeking a temporary restraining order, preliminary injunction, and permanent injunction against Defendants, ordering that the Defendants cease their refusal to obligate congressionally appropriated funds administered by the United States Agency for Global Media. Plaintiff is also seeking that Defendants’ impoundment of their congressionally appropriated funds and termination of their grant agreement be held unlawful. Plaintiffs argue that Defendants actions are in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act as well as the Presentment Clause, the Appropriations Clause, the Spending Clause, and the Take Care Clause of the U.S. Constitution. They also argue that the Defendant’s actions violate separation of powers principles, are in excess of the Executive’s delegated powers and violate the Mandamus Act. |
| Case Update |
TRO – On March 25, 2025 the District Court for the District of Columbia granted Plaintiff’s Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order seeking disbursement of congressionally appropriated funds and enjoining the implementation of Defendants’ termination letter. The Court also ordered Defendants take no steps and impose no obligations relating to closing out Plaintiff’s grant. |
| Related Cases |
Open Technology Fund v. Lake et al., Case No. 1:25-cv-00840-RCL (D.D.C. Mar. 20, 2025). Widakuswara et al v. Lake et al., Case No. 1:25-cv-02390-JPO (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 21, 2025). |
Additional Documentation
- Trump Executive Order - Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy
