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Washington is one of 21 states suing the Trump administration Thursday over the Education Department firing more than 1,300 workers, claiming the dismissals were “illegal and unconstitutional.”

“Knowledge is power, and these cuts are intended to take invaluable learning opportunities away from millions of students,” Washington Attorney General Nick Brown said. “As many of Trump’s illegal cuts do, these impacts will fall hardest on young people and families that can least afford it.”

The joint lawsuit was filed two days after the firings took place, spearheaded by New York Attorney General Letitia James.

“Firing half of the Department of Education’s workforce will hurt students throughout New York and the nation, especially low-income students and those with disabilities who rely on federal funding,” James said in a prepared statement. “This outrageous effort to leave students behind and deprive them of a quality education is reckless and illegal.”

The other attorneys general pursuing the lawsuit represent the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, Vermont, and the District of Columbia.

In the lawsuit, the attorneys general argued that the executive branch “does not have the legal authority to unilaterally incapacitate or dismantle it without an act of Congress,” according to and that the move to cut staff members would lead to the “destruction of this critical federal agency that ensures tens of millions of students receive a quality education.”

The Education Department serves approximately 18,200 districts and more than 50 million students across nearly 100,000 public schools and 32,000 private schools, in addition to supporting programs for special education.

James, alongside 19 other attorneys general, won a separate injunction recently against the Trump administration that bars the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from access to the U.S. Treasury Department’s payment and data systems.

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