Woodmere Art Museum Drops Lawsuit Against Trump Administration

Woodmere Art Museum in Philadelphia dropped its lawsuit against the Trump administration over the unlawful termination of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), as its $750,000 grant was restored.

Prior to any legal action, Woodmere had requested that the IMLS review its grant termination. The museum confirmed via email that, as it was preparing to go to court on Friday, September 12, its grant was instead restored.

Woodmere received a Letter of Reinstatement of the grant on September 4, stating, “The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) has completed the termination review process and will be reinstating your federal grant. This action supersedes any previous notices you may have received related to grant termination.”

In 2024, Woodmere was awarded the $750,000 grant through the IMLS’ “Save America’s Treasures” program to revamp the museum’s catalog system and digitize works for an exhibition honoring the 250th anniversary of the country’s founding.

Grant reimbursements are distributed quarterly, with Woodmere receiving about $195,000 of the grant so far. The museum had already entered into several contracts at the time of the grant’s termination, however, with a goal of finishing the work by September 30.

“We are thrilled to receive the news that the IMLS has reinstated this important grant, and we look forward to the critical work of preserving, conserving, and stewarding Woodmere’s collection for the benefit of the public,” said Woodmere Director and CEO William Valerio in a statement.

Since the grant was restored, the lawsuit was dismissed.

Though some grants have been reinstated, this, unfortunately, has not been the case for many others who lost grant funding through the IMLS.

In March, President Trump signed the executive order “Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy,” which called for the IMLS to be “eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law” within seven days. That order followed another that shrank seven federal agencies, including the IMLS.

In June, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) determined that the Trump administration‘s withholding of funding for the IMLS is in violation of the law. The IMLS is legally bound to support libraries and report important issues to Congress. After the president’s directives, however, the GAO, a part of Congress that monitors federal spending, found that the IMLS “ceased performing” and withheld approved funding intended to support its goal.

That same month, a federal judge ruled against stopping the Trump administration from continuing to slash the IMLS. 

A coalition of states also challenged funding cuts, with a Rhode Island federal judge issuing a preliminary injunction in May in an effort to stop the layoffs. In an August 11 court filing, however, the government said that IMLS employees were informed that reduction-in-force notices were rescinded.

The IMLS is also facing the possibility of federal defunding should the Trump administration’s proposed 2026 fiscal budget be approved by Congress, with an allocation of only $6 million that would be used to close the agency and several others at the beginning of 2026.