'Unlawful And Cannot Stand': California AG Rob Bonta Slams Trump's 'Illegal' Mass DoE Layoffs

9 hours ago

During a press briefing on Thursday, California Attorney General Rob Bonta spoke about President Trump's mass layoffs at the Department of Education.

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Transcript

00:00Good morning, everyone. I am California Attorney General Rob Bonta. Thank you all for joining

00:06us. We're here today to announce a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration for conducting

00:13an illegal mass firing of nearly half of all employees at the U.S. Department of Education.

00:19As part of the president's directive to eliminate the Department of Education, this en masse

00:24firing exceeds any statutory authority granted by Congress. Alongside numerous other actions

00:30the Trump administration has taken, this sweeping mass firing is simply put, illegal. Unfortunately,

00:37this is yet another example of my office, our offices, following through on promises

00:43we made. We'll take action if and when Trump violates the law and infringes on our rights.

00:51I, alongside 20 other attorneys general, allege that the Trump administration's directive

00:55to shut down the Department of Education through a massive reduction in force is unlawful and

01:01cannot stand. This mass firing of nearly half of the department's workforce is in violation

01:06of the Federal Administrative Procedures Act because an agency cannot use a reduction in

01:11force to override the limitations on their own power to dismantle agency functions required

01:18by law. What's so troubling here is that the reduction in force is so severe and so

01:22extreme that it incapacitates the department from performing statutory functions, which

01:29will deeply hurt the states represented here and others. Let me be clear, only Congress

01:34can make such drastic changes, not the agency, not the president. There's no question that

01:40the president's attempt to dismantle the Department of Education exceeds executive

01:44authority. As a result of these unconscionably disruptive actions, we're seeking declaratory

01:51relief and order vacating the defendant's actions implementing President Trump's directive

01:57to dismantle the Department of Education and preliminary and permanent injunctive relief

02:01to enjoin the agency's agency defendants from implementing the Trump administration's

02:06directive to dismantle the Department of Education, including through ordering a reduction in

02:10force. The president has yet again overstepped his authority by a mile and will hold him

02:17accountable. While Trump and Elon Musk may tout these cuts in our federal workforce as

02:23cost saving, we have to ask ourselves, what will the long term cost to our nation be?

02:30The answer is tremendous. It means cuts to early childhood education, which we know has

02:35a monumental impact on children's development, school readiness, and future success. It means

02:39cuts to special education, which is vital to removing learning barriers and tailoring

02:45instruction to individual student needs. It means cuts to technical education programs,

02:50which carve out important pathways that help meet the demand of the skilled labor market.

02:56In 2022, out of 37 developed nations, American students ranked 28th in math and 12th in science.

03:04Those numbers don't stand a chance without the invaluable programs the Department of

03:08Education provides, including assistance to children from low-income families, vocational

03:14training, enforcement of anti-discrimination laws, alongside countless other responsibilities

03:19fundamental to our educational system. How can we as a nation expect to lead the world's

03:25technological and scientific developments when we're falling behind in basic geometry and biology?

03:30President Trump can shout America first all he wants, but his anti-education agenda will

03:37only ensure we come in dead last. As Attorney General, as a father, as someone who cares

03:44about the trajectory of our state and nation, I can't sit back while the President attempts

03:49to kick our kids' futures to the curb. Trump may have forgotten to read up on the restrictions

03:55of his constitutional authority, perhaps because he's too busy turning the White House into

03:59a car dealership, but I won't and we won't sit back while he violates the law. That means

04:06that we'll see the Trump administration in court again. We don't expect the President's

04:11barrage of unlawful, chaotic, and disruptive executive orders and actions to slow down,

04:17which means neither will our work ahead. Fortunately, I know we'll be able to weather the storm

04:22because of the dedication and tenacity of the folks on our teams across the country.

04:28Before I turn it over, I just want to shout out the folks at California DOJ who made today's

04:32action possible. Lucia Choi, Natasha Reyes, Sri Panchalam, Jim Stanley, Michael Newman,

04:41Miranda Mason, Satoshi Yanai, Christina Bull-Arndt, Damon Brown, and Evan Ackra. Thank you, and

04:48now it's my honor to pass it on to you.

'Unlawful And Cannot Stand': California AG Rob Bonta Slams Trump's 'Illegal' Mass DoE Layoffs

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