A federal judge has essentially just signed off on President Donald Trump's plan to dismantle the Institute of Museum and Library Services. 

The Associated Press reports that U.S. District Judge Richard Leon gave Trump the okay on Friday.

For those unfamiliar with the Institute of Museum and Library Services, Newsmax explains, "[it is] an agency that funds and promotes libraries across the country."

A federal judge on Friday denied a request by the American Library Association to halt the Trump administration's further dismantling of an agency that funds and promotes libraries across the country. https://t.co/yQ6bVqAXcl

— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) June 7, 2025

Background

Back in April 2025, USA Today reported on how President Trump and his administration are taking steps to essentially dismantle the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

The outlet wrote:

Dozens of federal grants held by libraries, archives and museums nationwide have been terminated mid-year ‒ in some cases after the money was already spent. The Institute for Museum and Library Services has ended many grants in its Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian program and the National Leadership Grants programs, according to the American Library Association.

This came after Trump had picked a new leader of the institute.

The Associated Press separately reported:

President Donald Trump has named a new acting director for the Institute of Museum and Library Services, one of seven independent government agencies cited in a recent executive order calling for their dismantling “to the maximum extent of the law.” Trump said that the order “continues the reduction in the elements of the Federal bureaucracy that the President has determined are unnecessary.”

Trump, however, did face a legal challenge to these actions.

The latest

The American Library Association brought a legal challenge against Trump looking to stop him in his track, and, initially, they had some success.

The Associated Press explains:

U.S. District Judge Richard Leon had previously agreed to temporarily block the Republican administration, saying that plaintiffs were likely to show that Trump doesn’t have the legal authority to unilaterally shutter the Institute of Museum and Library Services, which was created by Congress.

Leon, however, reversed himself this past Friday.

The outlet continues:

But in Friday’s ruling, Leon wrote that as much as the “Court laments the Executive Branch’s efforts to cut off this lifeline for libraries and museums,” recent court decisions suggested that the case should be heard in a separate court dedicated to contractual claims.

In other words, it appears that Trump now has the green light to proceed with his dismantling of the institute, barring further legal challenges.