New York Attorney General Letitia James and a coalition of 20 other attorneys general won a court order on Thursday, May 22, stopping the Trump administration’s attempts to dismantle the Department of Education (ED).
On March 13, Attorney General James led the coalition in suing the administration after it announced plans to eliminate 50 % of ED’s workforce.
Following an executive order directing the closure of ED on March 20 and President Trump’s announcement on March 21 that, in addition to implementing layoffs, the department must “immediately” transfer student loan management and special education services outside of the department, James and the coalition sought a preliminary injunction to immediately stop the mass layoffs and transfer of services.
On Thursday, the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts granted the preliminary injunction, halting the administration’s policies that would dismantle ED and ordering all employees fired as part of the layoffs to be reinstated.
“This administration’s illegal cuts to the Department of Education are an attack on every student’s access to a quality education,” said Attorney General James. “Today, we successfully put a stop to this outrageous attempt to leave our students behind and deprive our schools and teachers of the resources they need.
“As a proud graduate of New York public schools, I will continue to protect our schools and the critical services they provide to our communities,” she added.
Attorney General James and the coalition argued in their lawsuit and motion for a preliminary injunction that the administration’s attacks on ED are “illegal and unconstitutional.”
They said the ED is an executive agency authorized by Congress, with numerous laws creating various programs and funding streams.
The coalition’s lawsuit asserts that the executive branch does not have the legal authority to dismantle it unilaterally without an act of Congress.
In addition, Attorney General James and the coalition argue that ED’s mass layoffs violate the Administrative Procedures Act.
The attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, Wisconsin, Vermont, and the District of Columbia are joining Attorney General James in filing the lawsuit.
