The Trump administration cut about half the agency’s work force, saying the move would enable it to deliver services more effectively. The attorneys general called the layoffs “reckless and illegal.”

A group of 21 attorneys general led by New York's Letitia James Thursday sued the Trump administration in an effort to halt the dismantling of the Education Department.

The Thursday lawsuit said laying off nearly 2,000 people at the department will hurt schools and universities across the country.