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.”

Washington is one of 21 states suing Trump Thursday after the Education Department fired more than 1,300 workers.

The suit from 20 states and the District of Columbia comes two days after the federal agency fired more than 1,300 employees.

A new lawsuit from Democratic attorneys general in 20 states and the District of Columbia alleges this week’s mass layoffs at the Department of Education are gutting the agency as a way to implement an unlawful plan by President Donald Trump to dismantle the department.