President Donald Trump’s executive order dismantling the Department of Education violated the Constitution and federal law, school districts, education advocacy groups and unions alleged in multiple lawsuits Monday.
The lawsuits are the latest to hit the Trump administration over its wider effort to dismember the federal government.
Last week, Trump ordered Education Secretary Linda McMahon to effectively shutter the Education Department and transfer its core functions, like distributing Pell Grants and managing student loans, to other federal agencies and departments.
Trump’s order specifically called for the department to be closed to “the maximum extent appropriate and permitted by law,” because officially closing the department would require an act of Congress, which is the only branch that can create federal offices.
The NAACP, the National Education Association public school parents and a union group in Maryland alleged in a lawsuit Monday that Trump’s order violates Congress’s authority to create offices and the Administrative Procedure Act.
“Because it is a Congressionally-created federal agency, legally eliminating the Department of Education, or its constituent offices, or transferring them to other federal agencies, requires Congressional approval,” the lawsuit reads.
In a separate lawsuit, a large coalition of educators, school districts, and unions represented by Democracy Forward* asked a court to prevent the Education Department’s dismantling, as Trump’s order also threatens Congress’s constitutional authority to appropriate funds.
“Trying to abolish the department as one of the president’s first acts — whether through an executive order, a ‘reduction in force’ or concepts of a plan to shift services elsewhere — is not only illegal, it sends a message that the president doesn’t care about broad-based opportunity, doesn’t care about knowledge, and doesn’t care about this country’s future,” American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten said in a statement.
Weeks before the executive order, the Trump administration cut the Education Department’s staff by 50% — around 2,000 workers.
A total of 21 Democratic state attorneys general sued over those cuts earlier this month, alleging that gutting the Education Department would violate Congress’ authority by destroying the department’s ability to fulfill its legally-required functions while causing “immense” damage to education systems.
Members of Congress have said they plan to introduce legislation to officially eliminate the department.
*Democracy Docket Founder Marc Elias is the chair of Democracy Forward’s board.