Democratic AGs Sue Over 'Evisceration' of Education Dept.

Democratic attorneys generals in 20 states and Washington, DC, are taking the Trump administration to court over mass layoffs that have reduced the Department of Education's workforce to around half the size it was in January. The lawsuit, noting that President Trump and Education Secretary Linda McMahon have "plainly and repeatedly stated" that they plan to eliminate the department, accuses the administration of trying to usurp the authority of Congress, the Hill reports. The lawsuit is seeking a court order to block "policies to dismantle" the department.

• "Immense damage" to educational system. "This massive reduction in force (RIF) is equivalent to incapacitating key, statutorily-mandated functions of the Department, causing immense damage to Plaintiff States and their educational system," the lawsuit filed in federal court in Massachusetts on Thursday states.

• Cuts "not supported by reasoning." The reduction in force "is not supported by any actual reasoning or specific determinations about how to eliminate purported waste in the Department—rather, the RIF is part and parcel of President Trump's and Secretary McMahon's opposition to the Department of Education's entire existence," the lawsuit states.
• "Reckless and illegal." The group is being led by New York Attorney General Letitia James, the New York Times reports. Firing half the department's workforce "will hurt students throughout New York and the nation, especially low-income students and those with disabilities who rely on federal funding," she said in a statement. "This outrageous effort to leave students behind and deprive them of a quality education is reckless and illegal."
• The states. The coalition also includes the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, Wisconsin, and Vermont. Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said the "evisceration" of the department is "plainly unconstitutional, as only Congress can lawfully dismantle the department that it created or shut down services it has required the federal government to fund," the Colorado Sun reports.

(More Department of Education stories.)