In its eighth lawsuit against the Trump administration, a coalition of Democratic attorneys general filed a complaint Thursday alleging the firing of 1,300 U.S. Education Department employees this week was illegal.
Led by California, Hawaii, Massachusetts and New York, the complaint alleges the firings are part of President Donald Trump’s directive to shut down the department despite only Congress having the authority to do so.
“For all of us, this is just another day of chaos, confusion and contempt of government, and we will not allow it,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said during a news conference announcing the lawsuit.
The 21 attorneys general who filed the complaint are seeking to stop the Trump administration from taking any further actions to dismantle the Education Department, as the president has repeatedly said he intends to do. It also seeks to invalidate and reverse this week’s firings to bring the department back to the status quo.
On Tuesday, the Education Department initiated a reduction in force that impacted nearly half of its workforce. In a press release, the department said impacted staff will be placed on administrative leave starting March 21, effectively reducing the workforce from 4,133 people at the time of Trump’s inauguration to 2,183 once the firings take effect.
About 600 department employees had agreed to the Office of Personnel Management’s voluntary resignations and buyouts before the reduction in force directive.
In a statement Tuesday, Education Secretary Linda McMahon said the staff reduction reflected the department’s “commitment to efficiency, accountability and ensuring that resources are directed where they matter most: to students, parents and teachers.”
Responding to the lawsuit, Education Department Deputy Assistant Secretary for Communications Madi Biedermann told Spectrum News, "The Department of Education's reduction in force was implemented carefully and in compliance with all applicable regulations and laws. They are strategic, internal-facing cuts that will not directly impact students and families."
The attorneys general allege the reduction in force was a violation of the federal Administrative Procedure Act.
“What is so troubling here is that the reduction in force is so severe and so extreme that it incapacitates the department from performing statutory functions, which will deeply hurt the states represented here and others,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said during the news briefing.
Filed in a U.S. District Court in Massachusetts, the lawsuit says the cuts to the department will affect 50 million American children in K-12 schools, who rely on the agency to help pay for special education, teacher salaries, social workers, professional development programs, after-school programs, reading specialists and transportation, as well as to provide assistance to children from low-income families and to enforce anti-discrimination laws.
“Our kids should not be political pawns,” Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell said. “We can address bloated bureaucracies lawfully and effectively. The recent actions by the federal administration does not.”
