The American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association have filed separate lawsuits aimed at stopping the Trump administration from dismantling the U.S. Department of Education on the grounds that his executive order to close the agency exceeded his authority.

Prior to the executive order, the Trump administration had already slashed the number of workers at the agency by half, from more than 4,000 to roughly 2,000 through mass layoffs and some buyouts.

Trump’s March 20 executive order directed Education Secretary Linda McMahon to “facilitate the closure” of the U.S. DOE.

Both lawsuits contend that the layoffs have incapacitated the agency and prevented it from fulfilling its statutory responsibilities, which include disbursing federal funding and grants, investigating civil rights violations, funding education research, and providing grants and loans to higher education institutions and students.