A coalition of attorneys general from 20 states and Washington, D.C., filed a lawsuit on Thursday against the Trump administration over its move to lay off nearly 50% of the Department of Education's workforce.

Earlier this week, the Education Department terminated over 1,300 employees. Education Secretary Linda McMahon called the action the "first step" in President Donald Trump's "mandate" to shut down the department.

'Elected with a mandate from the American public to return education authority to the states.'

"What we did today was to take the first step of eliminating what I think is bureaucratic bloat," McMahon stated.

In February, the Education Department fired 63 probationary workers. Another 600 staffers voluntarily quit as part of the Trump administration buyout offer.

Earlier this week, a DOE spokesperson stated that the layoffs were meant to cut the department's workforce "roughly in half," adding that 131 teams would be eliminated.

"We are focusing on eliminating full teams whose operations are either redundant or not necessary for the functioning of the department," the spokesperson said.

"We're going to have these folks roll over their responsibilities by Friday, March 21. They will then go on paid administrative leave until the reduction in force is complete," the DOE official continued. "They will be teleworking from tomorrow until March 21. Then all of that is being done for safety reasons to protect the 2,183 employees that are going to remain after the [reduction in force] is complete."

The states suing the administration, the department, and McMahon included New York, Massachusetts, Hawaii, California, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.

The Democratic attorneys general wrote in their lawsuit that the layoffs were "an effective dismantling of the Department." They argued that the Trump administration lacks the authority to eradicate the Education Department.

Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell stated, "Neither President Trump nor his secretary have the power to demolish a congressionally created department."

New York Attorney General Letitia James said, "This outrageous effort to leave students behind and deprive them of a quality education is reckless and illegal."

The complaint contended that the department is "essential."

"The dismantling of the Department will also result in the termination of afterschool programs," the lawsuit read. "Regardless of what alternative resources are put in the place of the Department of Education, the process of the Department's dismantling will create and has created chaos, disruption, uncertainty, delays and confusion for Plaintiff States and their residents."

Madi Biedermann, an Education Department spokesperson, declared that Trump was "elected with a mandate from the American public to return education authority to the states."

She noted that the layoffs were "strategic, internal-facing" and "will not directly impact students and families."

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