DOGE’s Quiet Coup: Why the Art and Museum World Is Bracing for a Federal Gutting
The Institute of Museum and Library Services is on the chopping block. Staff are resisting, but time is running out.
On Thursday morning, the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) — the small but crucial federal agency that supports libraries and museums across the U.S. — was effectively placed under new control. Backed by security and DOGE operatives, Keith Sonderling was sworn in as acting director.
This comes days after President Trump signed an Executive Order aimed at eliminating the IMLS “to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law.” It’s part of a broader campaign by the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to dismantle federal programs deemed “non-essential.” But for those in the museum and library sectors, this is a direct attack on access, equity, and education.
“They didn’t expect to find the entire staff in the office working,” one IMLS employee said. Staff showed up in force Thursday, dressed in black, refusing to quietly accept the agency’s dismantling. The act of collective presence may have delayed an immediate shutdown — but the clock is ticking.
The Consequences Could Be National IMLS administers grants to public libraries, museums, and educational initiatives in every U.S. state and territory. Its programs support underserved communities, tribal libraries, and schools in high-poverty districts. Despite accounting for just 0.0046% of the federal budget, its impact is enormous.
Museum leaders are already sounding the alarm. Without IMLS funding:
- Learning initiatives for children with disabilities will vanish.
- Title I school programs will be cut.
- Early childhood and community literacy efforts will collapse.
A Strategic Hit on Cultural Infrastructure DOGE’s approach is calculated. Other departments, now mostly remote, were easily padlocked. IMLS staff’s refusal to go quietly highlights what’s really at stake: not bureaucratic bloat, but cultural infrastructure, public knowledge, and community trust.
And the new acting director? Sonderling, a labor lawyer with no background in museums or libraries, now holds dual roles in DOGE and the Department of Labor. His first email to staff emphasized “American exceptionalism and patriotism” — not access, not equity, not education.
What Happens Next? Sources inside IMLS expect most staff to be placed on administrative leave by Monday. The future of current grants is unclear. New grants may not materialize at all.
The union is calling for transparency. Cultural organizations are mobilizing. But without bipartisan pushback in Congress, DOGE’s campaign could succeed — and a vital piece of American public life could quietly disappear.
Bottom Line:
This isn’t just about one agency. It’s a test case for how far the federal government is willing to go in dismantling public support for the arts, culture, and education. The IMLS may be the first domino.
The time to speak up is now.
ART Walkway News
