Concord, N.H. – Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander, a member of the Rapid Response and Litigation Task Force, filed an amicus brief in NAACP v. US, arguing to the United States District Court District of Maryland that President Trump’s attempts to dismantle the Department of Education violate separation of powers and lack constitutional authority. Read the legal brief here.
On March 20, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order instructing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to “take all necessary steps” to abolish the Department of Education. This came after the Trump Administration carried out a series of actions dismantling the Department, including mass firings of ED employees, the termination of contracts for congressionally authorized programs and activities, and the removal of crucial protections for student loan borrowers, while announcing plans to reorganize key ED functions into different departments. On March 24, 2025, a coalition of plaintiffs, including the NAACP, the National Education Association, and others, filed a lawsuit to halt the Trump Administration’s illegal efforts to dismantle ED. The lawsuit argues that dismantling a Congressionally created federal agency requires Congressional approval.
Goodlander wrote in the brief, “Since the Department was created, presidents have taken different views of the Department and the role the federal government should play in education policy, but none has attempted what President Trump is attempting here: to unilaterally shutter the department… In short, the ‘President’s power, if any, to issue an order’ abolishing the Education Department ‘must stem either from an act of Congress or from the Constitution itself.’ Here, President Trump’s effort to unilaterally dismantle the Education Department defies the express will of Congress. Defendants lack the power to do what only Congress can do—restructure the federal government by shuttering a government department.”
Congresswoman Goodlander has been a fierce advocate for protecting the institutions Granite Staters rely on from the Trump Administration’s attacks. She has filed multiple legal briefs to hold the administration accountable, including in defense of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), challenging President Trump’s sweeping and chaotic tariffs unlawfully imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), and challenging the Trump Administration’s efforts to close the Department of Education. Goodlander is helping to lead the IDEA Full Funding Act, legislation that will ensure all children with disabilities can access high-quality public education.
###
