A federal judge on Friday sharply questioned a lawyer from President Donald Trump's Justice Department who was defending the administration's move to terminate more than 1,300 U.S. Department of Education employees against a challenge by Democratic-led states.

President Donald Trump’s efforts to crackdown on diversity, equity, and inclusion programs suffered a major legal blow Thursday as three separate judges – two of them appointed by the president – ruled against a Department of Education policy.

Rhode Island joined 18 other states in a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education. The lawsuit challenges the potential withholding of federal education funds over diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Rhode Island stands to lose over $116 million annually in federal education funding.