Attorney General Neronha secures preliminary injunction to protect libraries, workers, and small businesses

Published on Tuesday, May 06, 2025

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Attorney General Neronha today released the following statement after a Rhode Island court granted a preliminary injunction filed by his office and a coalition of 20 other attorneys general to stop the dismantling of three federal agencies that provide services and funding supporting public libraries and museums, workers, and small businesses nationwide.

“Today’s preliminary injunction is a critical win for the public interest,” said Attorney General Neronha. “When the Trump Administration attempts to dismantle these agencies, it is making a targeted, concerted effort to prohibit everyday people from accessing their full potential. They know that these agencies represent opportunities for the American people to better themselves through free access to knowledge through their local public libraries, to protect their labor and employment rights, and to help their small businesses grow. This Administration also knows that through suppressing and stifling access to opportunity, they can maintain and expand their power. We won’t let them, and neither should you.

“This year, I have traveled across the state and listened to Rhode Islanders who are concerned about what the future holds. While I don’t have all the answers, I often point to days like today as examples of attorneys general across the country taking swift, aggressive action in the face of unlawful federal behavior, and our courts ultimately upholding the rule of law. We’ve won many times before; we won today; and we will win in the future.”

Attorney General Neronha co-led this lawsuit with Attorney General Letitia James of New York and Attorney General Anne Lopez of Hawaii. Joining the lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.

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