Supreme Court rules to allow Trump to continue with mass Education Department layoffs

President Donald Trump edged closer to fulfilling his promise of eliminating the U.S. Education Department after a Supreme Court ruling paved the way for mass department firings.  

The court on July 14 lifted a federal court's injunction halting the Trump administration's efforts to lay off nearly 1,400 Education Department employees. The agency, which enforces laws related to special education and low-income students and oversees federal student loans, employed more than 4,000 people when Trump took office in January. 

Congress created the Education Department in 1979 and congressional action is required to officially shut it down. Trump in March signed an executive order directing U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon to "take all necessary steps to facilitate the (department's) closure."

The department offered employees buyouts and early retirement. McMahon ordered a reduction in force, laying off the nearly 1,400 employees.

In May, U.S. District Judge Myong Joun issued an injunction blocking the administration's actions on grounds it had effectively crippled the agency from carrying out its constitutionally mandated duties.

"The record abundantly reveals that Defendants' true intention is to effectively dismantle the Department without an authorizing statute," Joun wrote. He ordered the Trump administration to reinstate fired employees while the lawsuit was pending.  

The Supreme Court's apparent 6-3 decision lifting the Boston judge's injunction gave Trump permission to resume his administration's downsizing efforts.

Trump described the decision on Truth Social as "a Major Victory."

"Now, with this GREAT Supreme Court Decision, our Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon, may begin this very important process," Trump's post said. 

The conservative majority did not provide reasoning for its unsigned decision, which it issued after reviewing the case as part of its emergency docket — expedited cases before the court.

The ruling is not a final decision as the litigation proceeds through the lower courts.

Liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote a 19-page dissent that was joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson. "Only Congress has the power to abolish the Department," it said, arguing that the Trump administration was acting in a manner contrary to 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."

Trump's promise to eliminate the Education Department stems from his 2016 presidential campaign. But his first-term efforts to cut funding didn't garner congressional support. In his 2024 bid, he promised again "to end education coming out of Washington, D.C. We're going to close it up — all those buildings all over the place and people that in many cases hate our children. We're going to send it all back to the states."

Frederick M. Hess, an education policy expert at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, said the court's action enables Trump to "radically downsize (the Education Department's) staffing and operations."

"There's certainly cause to believe these steep cuts will have an impact on operational activities," he said. 

Although congressional action is still required to formally shutter the Education Department, Trump is able to proceed with initiatives to shrink the agency. 

We rate his promise In the Works.