Trump Administration seeks to cut number of employees in half as part of its plans to shutter the Department
OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today led a multistate coalition in filing a lawsuit challenging the unlawful mass firing of nearly 50% of all employees at the U.S. Department of Education. The firings are a significant step toward implementing the President’s directive to eliminate the Department of Education and are already devastating the Department’s ability to carry out critical functions. For example, a drastic reduction of workers in the Department’s Office for Civil Rights has shuttered at least seven regional offices, including those in San Francisco, New York, Boston, Dallas, and Cleveland. In the lawsuit, the coalition argues that the Trump Administration cannot abolish the Department of Education and cannot disrupt or override — through the mass firings of employees or otherwise — the statutory functions and programs that fall under its purview.
“The Trump Administration’s attempt to gut the Department of Education’s workforce is another step in its end goal of shuttering the department for good,” said Attorney General Bonta. “In doing so, the Trump Administration ignores the invaluable role the Department of Education plays in ensuring the health, safety, and education of our children — administering programs that assist children from low-income families, providing vocational training, and enforcing anti-discrimination laws, among countless other responsibilities fundamental to our educational system. Dismantling the Department of Education from within would have catastrophic consequences — and like many of the Trump Administration’s actions since taking office, is blatantly illegal. It shouldn’t be too much to ask for a President to follow the law, but for the eighth time in as many weeks, we’ll see him in court.”
On March 11, the Department of Education initiated a reduction in workforce impacting nearly 50% of the Department’s employees, as part of the Trump Administration’s “final mission” to dismantle the Department. Impacted Department staff will be placed on administrative leave beginning Friday, March 21st. When President Trump was inaugurated, the Department’s workforce stood at 4,133 workers. Following the March 11 actions, the Department’s workforce will total roughly 2,183 workers. Included in the reduction in force are nearly 600 employees who accepted voluntary resignation and retirement proposals over the last seven weeks, including 259 employees who participated in the Deferred Resignation Program and 313 employees who accepted the Voluntary Separation Incentive Payment.
In today’s lawsuit, Attorney General Bonta and a multistate coalition demonstrate that President Trump’s directive to shut down the Department, and the steps taken by the Department and Secretary of Education Linda McMahon to implement that directive, are unlawful and cannot stand. The coalition establishes that the Trump Administration cannot undo the many acts of Congress that authorize the Department, dictate its responsibilities, and appropriate funds for it to administer. Its attempt to do so through the mass firings violates the separation of powers and the Executive Branch’s obligation to take care that the law is faithfully executed. Further, as the complaint details, these firings exceed the Department’s authority under the law, are arbitrary and capricious, and contrary to law in violation of the Administrative Procedures Act.
Attorney General Bonta is leading this lawsuit with Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell, and New York Attorney General Letitia James. They are joined by the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, Wisconsin, Vermont, and the District of Columbia.
A copy of the lawsuit is available here.