California Attorney General Rob Bonta issued a statement on May 22, 2025, following a U.S. District Court ruling granting a preliminary injunction in a multistate lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration’s mass firing of U.S. Department of Education employees. The court’s decision temporarily restores the employees while the case continues.
Bonta condemned the firings and transfer of core education functions to other agencies as unconstitutional and a violation of the Administrative Procedure Act. He emphasized the importance of protecting student aid, civil rights enforcement, and services for students with disabilities.
The firings affected nearly 50% of the Department’s workforce without justification, aligning with what Bonta described as the Trump Administration’s “final mission” to dismantle the agency. He cited President Trump’s directive to Education Secretary Linda McMahon and the transfer of duties to unprepared agencies as further evidence of this goal. These steps include transferring the administration of federal student loans to the Small Business Administration, which recently fired 40% of its workers, and of special needs and nutritional programs to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
