Supreme Court says Trump's Education Department layoffs can resume

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday gave the green light to former President Donald Trump’s plan to overhaul the Department of Education, allowing the administration to move forward with the layoff of nearly 1,400 employees.

With the three liberal justices in dissent, the court paused an order from U.S. District Judge Myong Joun in Boston, who issued a preliminary injunction reversing the layoffs and calling into question the broader plan. The layoffs "will likely cripple the department," Joun wrote.

A federal appeals court refused to put the order on hold while the administration appealed.

An exterior view of the Supreme Court on June 20, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Credit: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

The high court action enables the administration to resume work on winding down the department, one of Trump's campaign promises.

Supreme Court allows Trump to lay off nearly 1,400 Education Department employees

What they're saying:

Education Secretary Linda McMahon said it’s a "shame" it took the Supreme Court’s intervention to let Trump’s plan move ahead.

"Today, the Supreme Court again confirmed the obvious: the President of the United States, as the head of the Executive Branch, has the ultimate authority to make decisions about staffing levels, administrative organization, and day-to-day operations of federal agencies," McMahon said in a statement.

Dig deeper:

Education Department employees who were targeted by the layoffs have been on paid leave since March, according to a union that represents some of the agency’s staff.

Joun’s order had prevented the department from fully terminating them, though none had been allowed to return to work, according to the American Federation of Government Employees Local 252. Without Joun’s order, the workers would have been terminated in early June.

Why does Trump want to shut down the Education Department? 

The other side:

The Trump administration says the layoffs are aimed at efficiency, not a department shutdown. Trump has called for the closure of the agency but recognizes it must be carried out by Congress, the government said.

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The administration has said that restructuring the agency "may impact certain services until the reorganization is finished" but it’s committed to fulfilling its statutory requirements.

Last week, the justices cleared the way for Trump's plan to significantly reduce the size of the federal workforce. On the education front, the high court has previously allowed cuts in teacher-training grants to go forward.

The Source: The Associated Press contributed to this story. This story was reported from Los Angeles.


 

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