Lawsuits are being filed one after another to block President Donald Trump’s executive order to dismantle the Department of Education.
On the 24th, two teacher unions filed a lawsuit in the Massachusetts District Court, claiming that President Trump’s executive order to dismantle the Department of Education violates the Constitution. On the same day, the National Education Association (NEA) and others filed a similar complaint in the Maryland District Court.
In addition, 20 states, including New York and New Jersey, filed an injunction in the Massachusetts District Court to block the implementation of the executive order to dismantle the Department of Education.
These lawsuits are based on the argument that “the Department of Education is based on federal law and cannot be shut down without the consent of the federal Congress, and the large-scale workforce reductions currently being implemented by the Trump administration are significantly impeding the Department of Education from performing its legally required functions.”
The teachers’ union that filed the lawsuit in the Massachusetts federal court stated that “the Department of Education is the cornerstone of public education and dismantling it will cause real harm not only to our region but to the entire country,” and that the court should block the implementation of the executive order.
However, the Trump administration strongly criticized the teachers’ union and others who filed the lawsuit.
Madi Biederman, a spokesperson for the Department of Education, said, “The administration has pledged to work with Congress to close the Department of Education,” and “Instead of proposing useful solutions to improve academic outcomes, the teachers’ union is distorting the situation in order to maintain its monopoly on bureaucracy.”
Meanwhile, on the 21st, the day after signing the executive order, President Trump announced a plan to drastically reduce the Department of Education.
President Trump said, “We will transfer the management of $1.6 trillion in federal student loans to the Small Business Administration (SBA),” and “Work such as special education and student nutrition programs will be transferred to the Department of Health and Human Services.”
President Trump added, “This move will be made immediately and will provide better services than before.”
In relation to this, key Republican lawmakers, including Senator Bill Cassidy, chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, announced their intention to push for legislation to make President Trump’s policy of abolishing the Department of Education a reality.