Attorney General Bonta Secures Preliminary Injunction to Block Mass Firings, Transfer of Core Functions from Department of Education

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today issued the following statement in response to a decision by the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts granting a preliminary injunction in a multistate lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration’s unlawful mass firing of U.S. Department of Education employees and the transfer of core statutory functions to other departments. These actions have devastated the Department of Education’s ability to meet its statutory obligations across numerous programs — direct funding for K-12 education, student aid, services for students with disabilities, civil rights enforcement, vocational training, and more.      

“As long as the Trump Administration persists in violating the law, we will continue to hold him accountable,” said Attorney General Bonta. “The firing of Department of Education employees and outsourcing of core statutory functions, like the administration of federal student loans, violate the Administrative Procedure Act and are unconstitutional. I am encouraged by the court's ruling today restoring fired Education Department employees to their positions while our case progresses. We will continue to fight to ensure the unlawful and absurd dismantling of the Department of Education is reversed — permanently. Our students deserve better.”     

On March 11, the Department of Education initiated a mass termination impacting nearly 50% of the Department’s employees, as part of the Trump Administration’s “final mission” to dismantle the Department. The mass firings were not accompanied by any reasoning to explain why these employees — and indeed, some whole teams — were targeted. The rationale is nevertheless clear — the Trump Administration believes the Department should not exist and is using these firings as a tool in furtherance of that goal. President Trump’s directive for Education Secretary Linda McMahon to take all necessary steps to dismantle the Department is further evidence that the firings are part of a broader effort to undermine the Department’s ability to carry out its most vital, congressionally-mandated functions. These steps include transferring the administration of federal student loans to the Small Business Administration, which recently fired 40% of its workers, and of special needs and nutritional programs to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.    

A copy of the decision is available here.