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CNN
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The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston was forced to close Tuesday due to the “sudden dismissal of federal employees,” the library’s foundation said in a statement to CNN.
“As the Foundation that supports the JFK Library, we are devastated by this news and will continue to support our colleagues and the Library,” the foundation added.
A sign on the library’s doors read, “Due to the executive order, the JFK Library will be closed until further notice.” A source familiar with the matter told CNN that library staff who interacted with the public and fundraising were let go in line with the Trump administration’s effort to reduce the size of the federal government.
The closure came days after the government broadened its effort to cut federal workers, instructing agencies on a call to move forward with layoffs of probationary workers. President Donald Trump also signed an executive order last week directing federal agency heads to “undertake preparations to initiate large-scale reductions in force.”
While the library confirmed it was “temporarily closed until further notice,” the National Archives, which oversees the presidential library system, said in a statement later Tuesday that the library would reopen Wednesday.
The National Archives did not respond to further questions about reduction in staff at the library. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Members of the Kennedy family called out the library’s closure Tuesday afternoon. Former Rep. Joe Kennedy III, a grandson of Robert F. Kennedy, told CNN affiliate WBZ the closure was due to federal job cuts, adding that “when we start shutting down libraries in the name of government efficiency, we have got a problem.”
“I would like to think that it was not a deliberate target at the Kennedy library, but I think what we’ve seen is that there is not exactly a whole lot of thought given to what are the consequences of these actions,” he said.
Jack Schlossberg, a grandson of John F. Kennedy, criticized the closure, saying in an Instagram post that “it has nothing to do with government efficiency.”
The library is one of 16 that make up the Presidential Library System and receives annual federal funding for maintenance and “a portion of its personnel costs,” according to its website.
CNN’s Kerry Rubin contributed to this report.
