Less than a week after signing an executive order seeking to eliminate the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the only US federal agency that provides funding to museums and libraries, President Donald Trump has named Deputy Secretary of Labor Keith E. Sonderling to lead the agency.
Sonderling was sworn in as IMLS’s acting director on Thursday (20 March), the agency announced. His appointment suggests that the IMLS may not be completely eliminated, though its priorities and activities may be much more closely scrutinised and shaped by the White House and its new appointee.
“It is an honour to be appointed by President Trump to lead this important organisation in its mission to advance, support and empower America’s museums and libraries, which stand as cornerstones of learning and culture in our society,” Sonderling said in a statement. “I am committed to steering this organisation in lockstep with this administration to enhance efficiency and foster innovation. We will revitalise 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.”
Like the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), the IMLS’s funding comes in the form of annual appropriations that are decided by Congress; the IMLS’s appropriation for the fiscal year 2024 was $294.8m. In an executive order on 14 March, Trump described the agency and six others as “unnecessary” and stated that it would “be eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law”.
The IMLS is one of the largest conduits for federal arts funding in the US, along with the NEA and NEH (both of which are currently without leaders). Last year, the IMLS provided $266.7m in grants to libraries, museums and related institutions across the US and its territories. Trump’s attempt to eliminate the agency provoked outrage in the arts and library sectors.
“Make no mistake, these proposed cuts aren’t just numbers on a budget sheet,” Erin Harkey, the chief executive of Americans for the Arts, said in a statement. “The 35,000 museums and 123,000 libraries supported by IMLS are the bedrock of every American community—and any attempt to dismantle the federal government’s support for them will impact public access to culture, education and other essential services.”
Harkey added: “Museums safeguard our cultural heritage, inspire creativity and fuel local economies through tourism. Museum education programmes help make history, science and the arts accessible to all. Without IMLS funding, children could lose after-school programmes, researchers could be denied entry to archives and entire communities could lose access to important public spaces.”
Sonderling was confirmed as deputy secretary of the Department of Labor on 18 March. He previously served as the acting and deputy administrator of the Wage and Hour Division at the department during Trump’s first term, from 2017 to 2020. He subsequently led the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission from 2020 to 2024. Prior to entering public service in 2017, he was a partner at Gunster, one of Florida’s largest commercial law firms.
The new programming direction Sonderling has outlined corresponds generally with Trump's stated cultural agenda, from the president’s renewed efforts to create a sculpture park dedicated to "American heroes" to the NEA's pivot to seeking grants for "projects that celebrate the nation’s rich artistic heritage and creativity by honouring the semiquincentennial of the United States of America".