Department Of Education Set For Widespread Layoffs Following Supreme Court Ruling

The #SupremeCourt has cleared the way for the #Trump administration to proceed with mass layoffs at the Department of Education, blocking a lower court ruling that had temporarily halted the plan. The court's conservative majority granted the emergency application without issuing an explanation. However, the three liberal justices dissented, with Justice Sonia Sotomayor issuing a sharply worded opinion. "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," she wrote. She further warned that the ruling "rewards clear defiance" of the Constitution and called it a grave threat to the separation of powers.

President Donald Trump celebrated the decision, calling it a "Major Victory to Parents and Students across the Country." On Truth Social, he added, "Now, with this GREAT Supreme Court Decision, our Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon, may begin this very important process" of returning education functions to the states.

The administration's plan, initiated by an executive order, aims to eventually shutter the Department of Education entirely—a move not yet approved by Congress. Education Secretary Linda McMahon has already begun mass layoffs, announcing in a memo that the department's closure is her ultimate goal.

Skye Perryman, president of Democracy Forward, which represents plaintiffs in the case, condemned the decision. "On its shadow docket, the Court has yet again ruled to overturn the decision of two lower courts without argument," she said. "The Trump-Vance administration's actions to decimate a department established by Congress are still unconstitutional."

U.S. District Judge Myong Joun had earlier ruled that the administration's true intent was to "effectively dismantle the department without an authorizing statute." Trump officials, however, argued in court that the layoffs—affecting 1,378 employees—are within executive authority and not meant to eliminate the department.

New York Attorney General Letitia James countered that the action is "arbitrary and capricious" and violates laws governing how the department must operate. She also pointed out that the plan "eliminated or decimated teams" responsible for carrying out legally mandated duties, with no plans to fulfill them otherwise.

Link: NBCNews