Attorney General Tong Wins Court Order Stopping Dismantling of Department of Education

Press Releases

05/22/2025

Attorney General Tong Wins Court Order Stopping Dismantling of Department of Education

(Hartford, CT) — Attorney General William Tong today won a court order stopping the Trump administration’s attempts to dismantle the Department of Education (ED). On March 13, Attorney General Tong joined a coalition of 20 other attorneys general in suing the administration after it announced plans to eliminate 50 percent of ED’s workforce. Following a March 20^th Executive Order directing the closure of ED and President Trump’s March 21^st announcement that, in addition to implementing layoffs, the Department must “immediately” transfer student loan management and special education services outside of the Department, Attorney General Tong and the coalition sought a preliminary injunction to immediately stop the mass layoffs and transfer of services. Today, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts granted the preliminary injunction, halting the administration’s policies that would dismantle ED and ordering all employees who were fired as part of the layoffs to be reinstated.

“This was a lawless political attack on our kids and our schools. We sued, we’ve stopped them for now, and we’ll stay in court for as long as it takes to protect education in this country,” said Attorney General Tong.

The coalition argued in their lawsuit and motion for a preliminary injunction that the Trump administration’s attacks on ED are illegal and unconstitutional. The ED is an executive agency authorized by Congress, with numerous laws creating its various programs and funding streams. The coalition’s lawsuit asserts that the executive branch does not have the legal authority to unilaterally dismantle it without an act of Congress. In addition, the coalition argues that ED’s mass layoffs violate the Administrative Procedures Act.

Joining Attorney General Tong in filing the lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, Wisconsin, Vermont, and the District of Columbia.

Twitter: @AGWilliamTong

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Media Contact:

Elizabeth Benton
elizabeth.benton@ct.gov

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