PHOENIX – Attorney General Mayes today joined a coalition of 20 other attorneys general in filing a motion for a preliminary injunction as part of their lawsuit to stop the dismantling of the Department of Education (ED). On March 13, Attorney General Mayes and the coalition filed their lawsuit after the Trump administration announced plans to eliminate 50 percent of the Department’s workforce. Following a March 20 Executive Order directing the closure of ED and President Trump’s March 21 announcement that, in addition to implementing layoffs, the Department must “immediately” transfer student loan management and special education services outside of the Department, Attorney General Mayes and the coalition are seeking a court order to immediately stop the mass layoffs and transfer of services.
“The Department of Education was established by Congress, and it is Congress alone that has the authority to eliminate it,” said Attorney General Mayes. “The Trump administration's reckless and unilateral attempt to dismantle this critical agency is illegal and will harm students and families – particularly rural students and students with disabilities. I am seeking a preliminary injunction to stop this chaos and preserve critical services Arizonans rely on.”
As Attorney General Mayes and the coalition assert, the Trump administration’s attacks on ED have already had serious consequences for families and students throughout the country. Mass layoffs of ED staff have led to the closure of the Department’s Office of Civil Rights locations throughout the country. Critical funding for state school systems has also been delayed. As the attorneys general argue, states rely on billions of dollars every year in funding for elementary and secondary education, services for children with disabilities, vocational education, adult education, and other crucial services. All of these programs will be severely disrupted if the administration’s incapacitation of the Department is not stopped.
Attorney General Mayes and the coalition argue in their lawsuit and motion for a preliminary injunction that the Trump administration’s attacks on ED are illegal and unconstitutional. The Department is an executive agency authorized by Congress, with numerous laws creating its various programs and funding streams. The coalition’s lawsuit asserts that the executive branch does not have the legal authority to unilaterally dismantle it without an act of Congress. In addition, the attorneys general argue that ED’s mass layoffs violate the Administrative Procedures Act.
Joining Attorney General Mayes in filing the lawsuit and today’s motion are the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia.
