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In my ongoing efforts to protect and defend California and Californians and to uphold the rule of law, this week, I filed two new lawsuits against the Trump Administration for unlawful actions it took that will hurt countless workers and students.
The first lawsuit challenges the U.S. Department of Education’s unlawful termination of $148 million in grants that were already awarded to California to help our state train K-12 teachers and address our teacher shortage. If allowed to stand, this termination would squash aspiring teachers’ dreams and hurt a generation of children just trying to do their best in school.
The second lawsuit challenges the Trump Administration’s illegal mass firing of federal employees who are on probation — workers who support our veterans and farmers, staff our national parks, protect our forests and more. While President Trump may claim the mass firing will “curb waste and inefficiency,” in reality it will lead to operation disruptions, higher rehiring costs, and long-term financial burdens on taxpayers.
Trump has kicked our nation’s public servants to the curb and turned his back on our students and I refuse to allow it. As Attorney General, I will always demand fair treatment of our workers and ensure every child can receive a good education. I will always enforce our laws and take on those who violate them — it’s disappointing, but unsurprising, that right now that includes the federal administration.
In unity,
Rob
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Challenging Termination of K-12 Teacher Preparation Pipeline Grants
 States across the nation are facing a critical teacher shortage. But instead of doing the bare minimum and honoring grants that have already been awarded and obligated, the U.S. Department of Education is attempting to terminate funding for vital teacher preparation programs that train teachers to go into hard-to-fill positions and high-poverty or high need schools. This week, I led a coalition of attorneys general in filing a lawsuit against the Trump Administration challenging the unlawful termination of this funding. Impacted programs in California include those at Cal State LA, Chico State, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and the University of California, Los Angeles.
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Supporting Our Federal Workers
 I filed another lawsuit this week against the Trump Administration to reinstate federal probationary employees who have been unlawfully terminated and to halt further firings. In California, federal employees serve in critical roles across key agencies including the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Agriculture, the National Park Service, and the U.S. Forest Service, among others. The abrupt, pretextual firings have already caused a 149% increase in state unemployment benefit claims by federal workers and will inevitably impact small businesses through decreased consumer spending and decline in demand.
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Securing Preliminary Injunctions Against Trump Administration
 In addition, CA DOJ secured two preliminary injunctions this week. The first prevents the Trump Administration from freezing up to $3 trillion in vital federal funding while litigation continues. If allowed to go into effect, the federal funding freeze would have threatened hundreds of billions of dollars in California annually, including vital public safety, healthcare, childcare, and infrastructure funding. The second continues blocking the Trump Administration’s unlawful and drastic National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding cuts from taking effect. As I have said before, we will not allow President Trump to play politics with our public health or to break the law.
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Filing Criminal Charges Against 30 Officers for Facilitating “Gladiator Fights”
 Officers at Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall in Downey have a duty to ensure the safety and well-being of those under their care. Instead, 30 officers did just the opposite — overseeing ‘gladiator fights’ when they should have intervened. This week, I announced the unsealing of a grand jury indictment against the officers on charges of child endangerment and abuse, conspiracy, and battery. Let the charges be a warning for all those who abuse their power: CA DOJ is watching, and we will hold you accountable.
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Keeping You Safe
 Since 2022, my office has filed 48 organized retail crime cases with a total estimated loss of $12.5 million to the impacted businesses. These incidents are often orchestrated by intricate criminal networks that meticulously plan their operations weeks or even months in advance. In just a few minutes, they can steal merchandise worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, putting employees and customers at risk of threats, violence, or, in the most tragic instances, actual harm. To better prosecute these crimes, I launched the Organized Retail Criminal Enterprises (ORCE) program, which included the formation of two investigative teams within CA DOJ's Bureau of Investigation’s White Collar Crimes Unit.
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Making Your Life Affordable
 From groceries to gas, costs seem to be rising and rising ... and rising. CA DOJ has your back and is committed to protecting California families grappling with the high cost of living and the struggle to keep costs down. In this segment, find some of the ways CA DOJ is protecting Californians — and their wallets.
Case Study: RealPage Lawsuit
What We Did: My office sued RealPage, a software company, and Camden, Cushman & Wakefield/Pinnacle, LivCor, Willow Bridge and Greystar, the nation’s largest property management companies, for illegal actions that resulted in the raising of rents in areas including Southern California.
What This Means to You: Anticompetitive conduct makes life more expensive. Every day, millions of people worry about keeping a roof over their head and RealPage has made it more difficult to do so — driving up rents and reducing the supply of available apartments. As it stands, the scarcity and high cost of housing means California's 17 million renters spend a significant portion of their paychecks on rent, with an estimated 700,000 people at risk of eviction. The profits that result from these illegal schemes come out of the pockets of the people that can least afford it — whether done by CEO's in a smoke-filled room or by an algorithm, collusion like this is illegal. This lawsuit remains ongoing.
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Post of the Week
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FLASH BRIEFING
Attorney General Bonta, Newsom Administration: La Cañada Flintridge Agrees to End Legal Battle Over Affordable Housing Project
Attorney General Bonta Demands Answers on Veterans and Spouses Fired by Trump Administration
Attorney General Bonta Provides Guidance to Schools on Efforts to Support Equal Access to Education Opportunities
Proceed with Caution, California: Attorney General Bonta Alerts Consumers to Ongoing Scam Activity
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Video of the Week
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 Click on the video above, or the link below, for two quick case updates!
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Make a Difference at California DOJ
 Apply today to help CA DOJ protect the health, well-being, and public safety of Californians. Check out our featured jobs below and visit oag.ca.gov/careers for a full listing of available positions:
Deputy Attorney General III, Health Quality Enforcement
Deputy Attorney General IV, Consumer Protection
Deputy Attorney General IV, Environmental Justice and Protection
Deputy Attorney General IV, Antitrust Law Section
Deputy Attorney General III, Tort & Condemnation
Senior Assistant Attorney General, Natural Resources Law Section
Firearms Technical Lead, Firearms Modernization Section
Paralegal, Land Use and Conservation
Customer Support Specialist, Bureau of Firearms
Program Technician III, Criminal Record Update Program
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