Trump Administration Faces Legal Challenges Over Department of Education Layoffs

Massive staff reductions and efforts to dismantle the agency prompt a multistate lawsuit alleging unconstitutional overreach.

The U.S. Department of Education has laid off roughly 1,300 workers, cutting its workforce in half, with significant impacts on key offices like Federal Student Aid and Civil Rights.
Twenty-one Democratic attorneys general, led by New York's Letitia James, have filed a lawsuit claiming the layoffs violate congressional mandates and constitutional separation of powers.
Critics argue the cuts will hinder the department's ability to administer student loans, protect against discrimination, and support vulnerable student populations, including those with disabilities.
The Trump administration, aiming to eliminate the Department of Education, defends the layoffs as a move toward efficiency and decentralizing education policy to states.
The lawsuit warns that the staff reductions effectively incapacitate the agency, disrupting essential services and programs relied upon by millions of students nationwide.