by Daniel Johnson
March 17, 2025
The executive order’s intent is to cut down on the size of the federal government, but the intent can be see in who is affected.
President Donald Trump’s latest executive order, “Continuing The Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy,” which he signed March 14, seeks to eliminate funding for museums and libraries, global media organizations, the Minority Businesses Development Agency, the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars located in the Smithsonian Institution.
While Trump believes the order aligns with his overall goal of reducing the size of the government, critics are alarmed.
The American Library Association (ALA) was critical of the order, which called for the elimination of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the only federal agency for libraries in America.
In a statementthe organization said the executive order “is cutting off at the knees the most beloved and trusted of American institutions and the staff and services they offer. To dismiss some 75 committed workers and the mission of an agency that advances opportunity and learning is to dismiss the aspirations and everyday needs of millions of Americans. And those who will feel that loss most keenly live in rural communities.”
The American Alliance of Museums, issued its own statement March 15 on Trump’s cutting of the agency the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).
“Eliminating the only federal agency dedicated to supporting museums directly undermines the will of the people (96% of whom want to see federal funding maintained or increased for museums) and the critical roles museums and museum workers play in American society,” the organization wrote.
In 2021, IMLS issued a study that, among other things, asserted that libraries and museums can be utilized to promote racial equity and inclusion in the communities in which they are located.
According to Mother Jonesthe United States Interagency Council on Homelessness is the only federal agency focused on addressing the increasing crisis of homelessness, an issue that also disproportionately affects Black Americans.
Like with the other organizations, the reduction of funds is expected to effectively end this agency’s work
In his February op-ed for The New York Times, columnist Jamelle Bouie observed that Trump’s war on diversity, equity and inclusion, which is extended to programs and services that benefit Black people, boils down to turning weapons intended to defend Black Americans from the machinations of an unjust American society against the very people they were intended to help.
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