California AG Rob Bonta leads coalition of states in another lawsuit against the Trump administration
Sacramento, California – California Attorney General Rob Bonta has spearheaded a lawsuit filed by a coalition of states against the Trump administration regarding the U.S. Department of Education. This legal action comes in response to the nearly 50% reduction in the department’s workforce, a move led by the Trump administration in its broader aim to dissolve the department entirely. Representing a broad alliance encompassing states from Hawaii to New York, the complaint claims that these mass firings are unconstitutional and undermine the department’s vital operations.
The Department of Education started a major workforce cut on March 11, affecting over half of its staff. The decision fits what the Trump government claims to be its “final mission”—that of destroying the agency. The affected employees were put on administrative leave starting March 21. The Department of Education employed more than 4,101 people before this action, but the count has dropped to around 2,18 with the latest cuts.
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Influenced by incentives like the Deferred Resignation Program and the Voluntary Separation Incentive Payment, the reduction includes roughly 600 employees who chose voluntary resignation or retirement during the preceding seven weeks.
These broad cuts have closed several regional offices of the Department of Civil Rights, including those in big cities including San Francisco, New York, Boston, Dallas, and Cleveland, so severely impairing the department’s capacity to enforce critical anti-discrimination laws and oversee underprivileged educational programs.
Attorney General Bonta attacked the government’s behavior as clearly illegal as well as a major disturbance of the educational support system.
“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,” Bonta said. He emphasized the department’s pivotal role in administering diverse educational programs and enforcing laws that protect students from discrimination.
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The coalition’s legal case mostly revolves around the claim that the President cannot unilaterally destroy a federal agency founded by Congress. The lawsuit notes that these kinds of activities go against the separation of powers stated in the U.S. Constitution and the statutory responsibilities given to the Department of Education by several Congress actions. The states contend that these acts go against the Administrative Procedures Act, are arbitrary, capricious, and outside of the power of the executive branch.
Joining California in this case are the attorneys general from several other states, including Hawaii, Massachusetts, New York, and many others, therefore posing a strong challenge against the federal government’s latest policies.
This legal challenge represents a turning point in the continuous struggle over educational policy and governance between federal administration and state governments. As the issue develops, it will probably establish significant precedents on the limits of presidential authority and government protection of educational rights and administration.
You can see the lawsuit here.
