A coalition of 20 states and the District of Columbia sued to block the U.S. Department of Education’s transfers of core grant programs to agencies including Labor, HHS and Interior. Plaintiffs say federal law requires the Education Department to run its own programs and that the administration’s agreements—part of a March executive order—amount to an unlawful attempt to dismantle the department. The litigation follows sweeping staff and contract cuts inside the department that critics say have gutted research infrastructure: the Trump-era Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) canceled more than 100 research contracts, terminated Regional Educational Laboratories, and disrupted longitudinal studies, according to reporting and sources. States and unions argue the moves harmed schools and disabled students; the administration defends the reorganization as efficiency and parental empowerment.