Trump Names New Head of Museum Agency He Moved to Dismantle Last Week

Last Friday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order calling for the demolition of seven federal agencies. The most important of these is the Institute of Museums and Library Services, which provides important funding for museums, libraries and archives. Now, less than a week later, Trump has appointed Keith E. Sonderling, the agency’s new head.

Earlier this week, Sandlin was identified as deputy secretary of the Department of Labor after serving in the agency during Trump’s first term and later served on Biden’s lawyers’ opportunity committee. Prior to 2017, Sonderling was a partner at the Florida law firm Gunster.

Sonderling is now apparently going to be removed from the IML after he was sworn in as acting director Thursday, according to the agency.

“The mission of President Trump to appoint leading this important organization is to improve, support and empower American museums and libraries, which is an honor, a cornerstone of learning and culture in our society,” Sonderling said in a statement. “I am committed to transferring the organization with this administration to a lockdown to increase efficiency and promote innovation. We will revitalize the IML and restore the focus on patriotism, ensure that we uphold our nation’s core values, promote American exceptionalism and cultivate love for the nation for future generations.”

Leaders of the IML and other targeted agencies were told to eliminate all non-compulsory functions and reduce the requirements to a minimum as part of Trump’s order last week.

The agency’s budget for fiscal year 2024 is $294.8 million, with approximately $55.45 million allocated to museums, roughly allocated to museums, Native American/Native American Museum of Hawaiian services, National Leadership Grants for the museum, and distributions for the African American History and Culture Museum and the National Museum of the United States. This year’s budget requirement is about 5%.

It seems that IML will not be able to completely eliminate, although what form it will retain and the budget it will have is unclear.