May 12, 2026
The Trump administration must continue facing claims that it overstepped its authority by attempting to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education, with a Maryland federal judge saying a lawsuit brought by the NAACP and three unions is strong enough to survive the administration’s dismissal motion.
U.S. District Judge Julie R. Rubin held Friday that the civil rights nonprofit and unions presented a compelling argument that the executive branch went too far by taking steps to shut down the Department of Education last year. Congress created the agency to perform specific functions and lawmakers set aside money for the agency to use, and the executive branch disregarded that when it canceled grants, ended programs and laid off agency employees en masse, the judge said.
“Plaintiffs point to defendants’ actions, which, they allege, have ended congressionally mandated programs and cut off congressional appropriations for same,” Judge Rubin said. “The court is satisfied that plaintiffs’ claims, as pled, plausibly allege that defendants have taken actions in direct contravention of the statutes creating such programs and directing appropriations thereto.”
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The NAACP and its affiliates are represented by Joseph M. Sellers, Ethan Judd, Ryan Wheeler and Jenna Waldman of Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC and Robert Kim, Jessica Levin, Wendy Lecker and Theresa Luhm of the Education Law Center.
Read Trump Administration Must Face NAACP, Unions’ Ed. Dept. Suit.