California on Thursday joined a multistate coalition of Democratic-led states in filing a lawsuit against the Trump administration over its sweeping layoffs across the Education Department.
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 suit also states that only Congress has the power to close the department or dismantle its core work.
“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,” Attorney General Bonta said in a statement.
“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.”
The federal suit was filed in a federal district court in Massachusetts. California is joined by 19 other states, including Arizona, Colorado, and New York, in filing the lawsuit.
During his time on the campaign trail, Trump repeatedly said he wanted to shut the department down, calling it wasteful and overly influenced by liberal thinking.
This week, the Trump Administration began dismantling the Department of Education, laying off about half of the agency’s workforce.
The suit asks a judge to order a stop to the layoffs, which are to take effect March 21. The staff reduction would leave 2,183 workers at the department, down from 4,133 in January.
California receives an estimated $16.3 billion annually in federal funding for K-12 school students or about $2,750 per student; however, not all funds come from the Department of Education, according to the Los Angeles Times.
In higher education, the Education Department also handles student loans for 43 million borrowers who owe the government more than $1.5 trillion.
Due to the layoffs, the department’s Office for Civil Rights regional branch in San Francisco is closing. Other regional branches in New York, Boston, Dallas, and Cleveland are also slated for closure.
California is also suing the Trump administration over the mass firings of probationary federal workers, birthright citizenship, and other issues.
