N.J. attorney general sues Trump administration over dismantling of Education Department
Matthew Platkin joined 20 other attorney generals in the suit against President Donald Trump's administration.
New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin is pursuing another lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s administration, this time over attempts to dismantle the Department of Education.
Platkin and 20 other attorneys general filed the suit in Massachusetts federal court Thursday, seeking a court order to stop Trump’s mission of dismantling the department, which they say is unconstitutional.
Trump has repeatedly said he wants to do away with the federal department as a whole and give more power to states and parents. As part of that mission, the federal Education Department announced the layoffs of 1,300 employees Tuesday, leaving the department roughly half its size of 4,100 when Trump took office. Some other employees left through buyouts or were terminated while on probation.
The attorneys general argue that the president doesn’t have the authority to unilaterally get rid of the department without congressional approval, or “incapacitate” it by stripping away its staff. They argue the agency cannot function as it’s legally required to with the cuts.
All of the attorneys general who signed onto the lawsuit are Democrats, hailing from states across the country from California to Maine, and Washington, D.C. Jersey’s neighbors of New York and Delaware are also participating in the suit, but Pennsylvania has been notably absent in these coalition efforts against Trump since the newly elected Republican Attorney General Dave Sunday took office.
It’s a sharp contrast from when Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, served as attorney general during the president’s first term. Shapiro made a name for himself fighting Trump in court during his time as the state’s top prosecutor, and last month he took it upon himself to sue Trump’s administration as governor over the president’s effort to freeze federal funding. It’s uncommon for a governor to do this instead of the state’s top prosecutor, and Shapiro hasn’t ruled out taking legal action again.
Madi Biedermann, a U.S. Department of Education spokesperson, said that the cuts were “strategic,” and “implemented carefully and in compliance with all applicable regulations and laws.” She said the layoffs “will not directly impact students and families.”
“President Trump was elected with a mandate from the American public to return education authority to the states,” she said.
» READ MORE: Here’s why N.J. Republicans are trying to impeach Attorney General Matthew Platkin
Biedermann said that employees who work on student loans, Title funds, and special education were not impacted by the layoffs and that the civil rights office will continue investigations. However, the department’s student loan website was down for hours the day after the mass layoffs were announced, and several civil rights offices were shut down as part of the cuts, including in Philadelphia, despite a backlog in investigations.
Platkin called Trump’s attempts to dismantle the federal department through executive order a “blatantly illegal” move that would hurt millions of students and teachers who depend on the department.
“As I have said, President Trump is not a king, and he cannot unilaterally decide to close a cabinet agency,” Platkin said. “We are taking the Trump administration to court again to prevent the Trump administration from inflicting grave harm on our state’s schools, and especially our special needs students.”
Education Secretary Linda McMahon said that the slashing of the department is part of a commitment to efficiency and accountability.
But McMahon has repeatedly referenced the department’s “final mission” to eliminate bureaucratic bloat and turn over the agency’s authority to states, and Trump has said he wants her to work herself “out of a job.”
Trump administration officials have suggested that other agencies can take on the department’s responsibilities. But it’s unclear who would promote equal access for students, and what would happen to the billions of dollars that help run programs.
Earlier this week, a Massachusetts federal judge blocked Trump’s February order terminating K-12 teacher preparation pipeline grants — which impacted grants for Montclair State University and The College of New Jersey — after Platkin and other attorneys generals sued. Platkin has been part of various other collaborative lawsuits against the Trump administration, including over Trump’s effort to freeze federal funding and his attempt to end birthright citizenship. Platkin also filed a brief in support of a suit against Trump’s efforts to ban transgender people from the military.
Republicans in the state are attempting to impeach Platkin, and they accuse him of using the position for politics and to generate headlines. The effort is unlikely to be successful, since both chambers in the state legislature are majority Democrat.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.