The Trump administration on Monday placed the staff of the Institute of Museum and Library Services on administrative leave, setting the stage for potentially ending the main source of federal support for the country’s museums and libraries.
The move came two weeks after President Trump issued an executive order naming the independent agency as one of seven that should be “eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law.” On March 20, Keith E. Sonderling, the deputy secretary of labor, was sworn in as acting director, replacing Cyndee Landrum, a career library professional.
Shortly after being appointed, Mr. Sonderling visited the agency with a team that included at least one staff member of the Department of Government Efficiency, who set up offices and obtained access to the agency’s computer systems. On Monday afternoon, after the team made several additional visits, the agency’s roughly 70 employees were informed by supervisors that they were being put on administrative leave for 90 days, and were not permitted to access the agency’s premises or systems.
“This action is not punitive but rather is taken to facilitate the work and operations of the agency,” Antoine L. Dotson, the agency’s director of human resources, said in a letter obtained by The New York Times.
The future of grant programs was not immediately clear. But the American Federation of Government Employees, the union representing staff members, said in a statement that in the absence of staff all work processing applications for 2025 grants “has ended.”
“Without staff to administer the programs, it is likely that most grants will be terminated,” it said.