U.S. Supreme Court Lets Trump Resume Education Department Shutdown

The U.S. Supreme Court has cleared the way for President Donald Trump to resume his controversial plan to downsize, and eventually dismantle, the Department of Education, allowing the administration to proceed with the layoffs of nearly 1,400 employees.

In a 6-3 decision issued Monday, the court granted an emergency request from the Trump administration, pausing a lower court’s order that had temporarily blocked the layoffs and cast doubt on the legality of the broader reorganization.

The decision, which did not include an explanation as is typical in emergency rulings, allows Trump to push forward with one of his most high-profile campaign promises.

This is the reduction and eventual elimination of the federal education agency.

The ruling reverses a preliminary injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Myong Joun in Boston, who warned that the proposed staff cuts “will likely cripple the department.”

Joun’s decision had temporarily protected the affected employees, keeping them on paid administrative leave rather than allowing terminations to proceed.

A federal appeals court had declined to lift Joun’s order while the administration pursued its appeal, prompting the Trump team to escalate the case to the Supreme Court.

The court’s liberal justices, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson, strongly dissented.

In a sharply worded opinion, Justice Sotomayor accused the majority of endorsing executive overreach and warned that the judiciary had failed in its duty to uphold the law.

“When the Executive publicly announces its intent to break the law, and then executes on that promise, it is the Judiciary’s duty to check that lawlessness, not expedite it,” Sotomayor wrote, joined by her two liberal colleagues.

Education Secretary Linda McMahon applauded the decision, criticizing lower courts for stalling the administration’s agenda.

“It’s a shame it took Supreme Court intervention to affirm what should have been obvious,” McMahon said.

“The president has the constitutional authority to manage executive agencies, including decisions on staffing and structure.”

The ruling is the latest in a series of high court victories for Trump as he pushes ahead with a sweeping overhaul of the federal government.

Just last week, the Supreme Court permitted a plan to dramatically shrink the size of the federal workforce.

In education policy specifically, the justices previously allowed cuts to teacher-training grants to proceed.

Meanwhile, Trump’s approach to education is facing broader legal challenges.

On the same day as the Supreme Court ruling, more than 20 states filed a lawsuit against the administration over the freezing of billions in federal education funding.

This includes for after-school programs and summer initiatives.

The nearly 1,400 Education Department employees targeted for dismissal have been on paid leave since March.

This is according to the American Federation of Government Employees Local 252, which represents many of them.

While Judge Joun’s injunction prevented their formal termination, the employees were not allowed to resume work.

Without the court’s intervention, they were scheduled for dismissal in early June.

Earlier this summer, the department had indicated it was considering how to potentially reintegrate the workers.

According to media reports, it even requesting updates on whether they had taken jobs elsewhere to “support a smooth and informed return to duty.”

That reintegration process now appears to be abandoned as the layoffs proceed.

The legal fight centers around two consolidated lawsuits.

One was brought by the Somerville and Easthampton public school districts in Massachusetts, joined by the American Federation of Teachers and other education advocacy groups.

The second was filed by a coalition of 21 Democratic attorneys general.

The lawsuits argue that dismantling the department violates federal law by stripping away the agency’s ability to fulfill mandates from Congress.

These include enforcing civil rights protections, distributing student aid, and supporting special education programs.

With the high court’s ruling, the administration is poised to accelerate its efforts to shutter the department, leaving schools, states, and educators nationwide bracing for what many see as a dramatic shift in the federal role in education.

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