Article Summary –
The U.S. Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to proceed with mass layoffs at the Department of Education without congressional approval, overturning a lower court’s injunction that required the reinstatement of nearly 1,400 employees. The administration’s broader agenda, influenced by the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, aims to dismantle the Department of Education by drastically reducing its workforce, freezing grants, and proposing significant budget cuts, despite legal and constitutional challenges highlighted by dissenting justices. Critics, including Justice Sonia Sotomayor, argue that these actions undermine the constitutional separation of powers and effectively bypass legislative processes to dismantle a federal agency.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on July 14 that the Trump administration can proceed with mass layoffs at the Department of Education without needing congressional approval.
In an unsigned opinion, the court allowed a stay of a lower court’s injunction requiring the administration to reinstate nearly 1,400 fired employees.
The court’s three liberal justices dissented. Justice Sonia Sotomayor noted: “The President must ensure laws are faithfully executed, not dismantled. This decision rewards defiance of constitutional principles.”
Education Secretary Linda McMahon confirmed her intent to execute the layoffs.
“The Supreme Court reaffirmed the President’s authority to make staffing decisions,” McMahon stated. “While this is a win for families, it’s unfortunate the court had to intervene to allow these constitutional reforms.”
The Trump administration initiated a significant workforce reduction on March 11, targeting over 1,300 positions, and on March 20, ordered McMahon to facilitate the department’s closure.
The order aimed to halve the Department of Education’s 4,133 employees. This included 600 who opted for “voluntary resignation opportunities and retirement” not subject to reinstatement.
Trump argued, “Closing the Department of Education offers families escape from a failing system.”
A federal judge blocked the order in May, with a 1st Circuit panel upholding it in June.
Congress created the Department of Education; thus, its dissolution requires legislative action, a hurdle given the necessity of 60 Senate votes to overcome a Democratic filibuster.
Sotomayor’s dissent argued that the administration aims to bypass legal requirements to effectively dismantle the department without Congress.
“Rather than wait for Congress, McMahon cut the workforce in half, without considering statutory functions,” Sotomayor wrote, adding it impairs essential duties.
The justice argued the ruling enables presidential overreach.
“The Judiciary must check, not expedite, executive lawlessness,” Sotomayor noted. “Lower courts rightly enjoined mass firings during ongoing litigation. The Supreme Court’s intervention undermines constitutional separation of powers.”
The administration has long sought to eliminate the Department of Education. This aligns with Project 2025, a Heritage Foundation plan for a second Trump term.
Experts indicate Trump’s education policies align closely with Project 2025, despite claims of no connection. The project plan advocates dismantling federal education involvement and ultimately the department itself.
Additional steps have included freezing teacher-training grants and proposing a $12 billion cut in the 2026 budget for programs aiding low-income students and teacher training.
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