Trump's next targets: Museums and libraries
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The Trump administration is aiming to shut down a federal agency that distributes taxpayer money to museums and libraries — including in Texas.
Why it matters: The cultural institutions rely on federal money to meet their mission.
Catch up quick: In a March 14 executive order, President Trump named the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) as one of seven agencies that should be "eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law."
- Other agencies included in the order are the Minority Business Development Agency and the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness.
Follow the money: The IMLS' largest program, called Grants to States, disburses roughly $160 million annually to state library agencies, including $12.5 million in fiscal year 2024 to the Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC). The agency supports public and school libraries and provides reading services for people with disabilities.
- The federal grant makes up a third of the state agency's total budget.
- Per a grant request from the state agency reviewed by Axios, the 2024 money was earmarked to improve access for Texans to literacy and workforce readiness, as well as to help train librarians.
- Asked about the IMLS funding, TSLAC officials directed Axios to a fact sheet detailing uses of the money.
Zoom in: In Austin, the Mexic-Arte Museum was the recipient in 2023 of a three-year grant worth $450,000 to hire an education coordinator and pay college student interns, whom it hires at $22 per hour.
- To date, the museum, whose budget is just north of $1.5 million, has been reimbursed $160,000, Paul Saldaña, president of the board of the museum, and Sylvia Orozco, the museum's executive director, tell Axios.
What they're saying: "Given today's political climate and escalating tensions, I believe museums and libraries can play a critical role to help ... our communities re-establish common ground and learn to build bridges rather than breed contempt and/or division," Saldaña tells Axios.
Zoom out: Other Austin institutions that have recently benefited from the IMLS include:
- The Hogg Foundation for Mental Health at the University of Texas (which won a $150,000 grant in 2024)
- The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center ($115,000 in 2024)
- And the Texas After Violence Project ($750,000 in 2021), which records reflections, artworks, cultural ephemera and other materials from communities impacted by police brutality, mass incarceration and the death penalty, per its website.
Friction point: IMLS was established by Congress in 1996 and reauthorized in 2018 by Trump. The agency's governing board issued a letter that explained that IMLS' programs "cannot be paused, reduced, or eliminated without violating Congressional intent and federal statute."
- Meanwhile, public library advocates have launched a petition to oppose the shuttering of the agency and its services.
Between the lines: The elimination of the IMLS could lead to "devastation for museums, libraries and archives everywhere," Gabriel Solis, executive director for the Texas After Violence Project, tells Axios.
The other side: "We will revitalize IMLS and restore focus on patriotism, ensuring we preserve our country's core values, promote American exceptionalism and cultivate love of country in future generations," Keith Sonderling, the acting director of the agency, said in a statement last week.