A group of 21 General Democratic prosecutors is demanding the Trump administration to block the dismantling of the Department of Education, claiming that the dismissal of 50% of its employees “incapacitates” the ability of the department to legally compete their functions.
The lawsuit, filed at the Federal Court of Massachusetts, asks a judge to immediately stop the massive shots of the Trump administration and declare that the dismantling of the Department of Education is illegal.
“This massive reduction in force is equivalent to the key functions and ordered by the department, causing immense damage to the demanding states and their educational systems,” said the demand. “Far from being just a ‘first step’, layoffs are an effective dismantling of the department.”
General prosecutors claim that the twenty states and the Columbia district that brought the case would suffer irreparable damage due to the dismantling of the department, arguing that the federal government is “deeply intertwined” with its educational systems through financing for low -income children, support for students with disabilities, federal student help and laws that prevent discrimination in education.
The headquarters of the Department of Education of the United States, which was ordered closed for the day so officials described as security reasons amid large -scale layoffs, is seen on March 12, 2025 in Washington.
Mark Schiefelbein/AP
According to the demand, the reduction of the force would prevent the department from completing its legally mandatory functions, and that not even President Donald Trump or the Secretary of Education Linda McMahon have the authority to break down an department created by Congress.
“This massive RIF is not supported by any real reasoning or specific determinations on how to eliminate the supposed waste in the department; instead of the RIF, it is an integral part of the opposition of President Trump and Secretary McMahon to the entire existence of the Department of Education,” the lawsuit said.
The DOE began sending notifications of “force reduction” on Tuesday night, impacting about 1,315 employees so far. The agency said that “it will continue to deliver all the legal programs that fall in the scope of the agency, including formula funds, student loans, Pell subsidies, financing for special needs students and the creation of competitive subsidies.”
This is a development story. Consult the updates again.
