Arizona AG joins lawsuit to block Trump administration layoffs at Education Department
WASHINGTON (AP/AZFamily) — Arizona’s attorney general joined a coalition of Democratic-led states in challenging the Trump administration’s sweeping layoffs across the Education Department, saying it amounts to an illegal dismantling of an agency created by Congress.
In a federal lawsuit filed Thursday in Massachusetts, 20 states and Washington, D.C., say the layoffs are so severe that the department “can no longer function, and cannot comply with its statutory requirements.”
It alleges that the cuts will result in a loss or delay of federal money for public schools, leave the agency unable to administer college financial aid or enforce civil rights laws at schools, and disrupt other programs.
“Let’s not pretend this is about making government more efficient. It is not. It is destruction,” Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said. “It isn’t about better education policy. It is about tearing down public education by those who want to privatize it for profit.
The department has previously insisted that it will continue to deliver on its statutory obligations despite the cuts. Still, Mayes did not mince words.
“Once we lose the rule of law, we will have lost our country,” she said.
The group has sued over birthright citizenship, the withholding of federal funding, DOGE, medical research cuts and mass firings at federal agencies.
“This is the 7th lawsuit that you and your offices have filed against the Trump administration. Is this taking away from the job that you and your office have been tasked with?” asked Arizona’s Family reporter Alexis Dominguez.
“No, it is absolutely not. As you know, we are very busy in other areas. Just yesterday we filed a lawsuit against a number of entities in the real estate industry for alleging consumer fraud. My office has seized more fentanyl in my first two years of office than my predecessor seized in his last two years of office,” Mayes answered.
The Arizona Attorney General’s Office has about 1,000 employees and 22 job openings.
“What would you say to people who believe that these lawsuits are just Democratic AG offices who are going against a Republican administration?” Dominguez asked.
“It has absolutely nothing to do with politics. If Donald Trump were doing all of these things in the appropriate way, the AGs would have nothing to sue about. This is about upholding the rule of law,” she explained.
Some Education Department employees have left through buyout offers and the termination of probationary employees. After a layoff of 1,300 people announced Tuesday, the department will sit at roughly half the 4,100 it had when President Donald Trump took office. Trump has repeatedly said he wants the agency shut down, calling it wasteful and overly influenced by liberal thinking.
The suit says only Congress can close the department or dismantle its core work.
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