Attorney General Ellison continues the fight to stop Trump from shutting down the Department of Education

AG Ellison joins coalition seeking preliminary injunction to block mass layoffs and the elimination of core services at the Department of Education

March 24, 2025 (SAINT PAUL) — Attorney General Ellison today joined a coalition of 20 other attorneys general in filing a motion for a preliminary injunction as part of their lawsuit to stop the dismantling of the Department of Education (ED). On March 13, Attorney General Ellison and the coalition filed their lawsuit after the Trump administration announced plans to eliminate 50 percent of the Department’s workforce. Following a March 20 Executive Order directing the closure of ED and President Trump’s March 21 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 Ellison and the coalition are seeking a court order to immediately stop the mass layoffs and transfer of services. A copy of today’s filing is available here.

“Today, I filed a motion to halt Donald Trump’s attempts to unlawfully dismantle the Department of Education and cause severe harm to students and classrooms across Minnesota,” said Attorney General Ellison. “Congress passed a law to create the Department of Education and Trump does not have the authority to eliminate it. Anyone with a basic understanding of civics knows this, and it remains deeply disturbing that the President is openly violating the law and flouting the will of Congress. I am taking this action to protect students across Minnesota from the clear and severe harm that will come from Trump’s attempt to illegally destroy the Department of Education.”

As Attorney General Ellison and the coalition assert, the Trump administration’s attacks on ED have already had serious consequences for families and students throughout the country. Mass layoffs of ED staff have led to the closure of the Department’s Office of Civil Rights locations throughout the country. Critical funding for state school systems has also been delayed. As the attorneys general argue, states rely on billions of dollars every year in funding for elementary and secondary education, services for children with disabilities, vocational education, adult education, and other crucial services. All of these programs will be severely disrupted if the administration’s incapacitation of the Department is not stopped.

Attorney General Ellison and the coalition argue in their lawsuit and motion for a preliminary injunction that the Trump administration’s attacks on ED are illegal and unconstitutional. The Department 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 attorneys general argue that ED’s mass layoffs violate the Administrative Procedures Act.

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