Each week, Liebert Cassidy Whitmore provides a summary of newly issued Executive Orders and other significant Presidential and federal actions that have a foreseeable impact on governance, compliance, and operational policies for California employers. The summaries below outline the key provisions of each action, along with our brief analysis of their potential implications for municipal agencies, school districts, private schools, and nonprofits.
Litigation: Federal Judge Blocks Dismantling of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (May 6, 2025)
On March 14, 2025, President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order titled “Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy” that sought to eliminate functions and personnel for several federal agencies, including the Institute of Museum and Library Services—the primary source of funding for public libraries.
A federal judge issued an injunction on the Order on May 6, 2025, stating that it violated the Administrative Procedure Act. The judge also found that the Order violates the constitutional separation of powers, which provides that Congress makes the law and appropriates funds, and the Executive implements the law Congress enacted and spends the funds Congress appropriated.
While the ultimate status of funding for Institute of Museum and Library Services is indeterminate, the injunction temporarily pauses funding cuts to public libraries, including those operated by cities, counties, public school districts, and special districts.
Litigation: Federal Judge Warns that President Trump Cannot Use New Executive Order to Skirt “Sanctuary Cities” Injunction (May 9, 2025)
On April 24, 2025, a federal judge blocked the Trump administration from withholding federal funding from more than a dozen sanctuary jurisdictions that have declined to cooperate with the administration’s immigration enforcement efforts. The lawsuit pertained to the Executive Orders entitled “Protecting the American People Against Invasion” (January 20, 2025) and “Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Open Borders” (February 19, 2025), which the judge held likely unconstitutionally imposed conditions on federal funding without congressional authorization and ran afoul of the localities’ due process rights.
On May 9, 2025, the same judge warned that President Trump’s latest Executive Order targeting sanctuary cities for loss of funding—Protecting American Communities from Criminal Aliens (April 28, 2025)—cannot be used to evade the April 24th injunction. However, the judge did not block the April 28th Order. He noted that the latest Order had some material differences from the earlier two and, in some respects, may even resolve problems he identified in the April 24th injunction. The judge stated that the administration could potentially identify funds to rescind if there was enough of a connection between the funding stream and the jurisdiction’s “sanctuary” policies. If, however, the latest Order were used to instead target funds unrelated to sanctuary policies, their suspension would violate the U.S. Constitution just as the earlier executive orders did.
LCW will continue to provide updates on the development of the Trump administration’s efforts to rescind funding from sanctuary cities.
Proclamation: Establishing Project Homecoming (May 9, 2025)
On May 9, 2025, President Donald Trump released a proclamation titled “Establishing Project Homecoming.” The declaration directs the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security to create a process for undocumented people to rapidly depart the United States, including financial incentives in the form of an “exit bonus.”
The Proclamation provides that within 60 days, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall supplement existing enforcement and removal operations by deputizing and contracting with state and local law enforcement officers.
Local law enforcement agencies in California should be aware that the federal government may solicit contracts to assist with enforcement and removal operations. Agencies that receive such inquiries should consult with legal counsel.
Executive Order: Keeping Promises to Veterans and Establishing a National Center for Warrior Independence (May 9, 2025)
A new Executive Order directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to designate a National Center for Warrior Independence on the West Los Angeles VA Campus in which homeless veterans around the nation can seek and receive the care, benefits, and services to which they are entitled. The Secretary shall work with other municipalities and VA facilities to ensure that homeless veterans outside the Los Angeles metropolitan area who want to use the Center are provided the means to do so. The Order states that federal agencies will also provide vouchers to support homeless veterans with respect to this effort.
Efforts to coordinate with cities in Los Angeles County and surrounding counties regarding the provision of services are likely forthcoming.