President Donald Trump announced Monday that his administration will begin mass layoffs at the U.S. Department of Education following the Supreme Court’s decision to allow his administration to proceed with ending the employment of more than 1,000 employees.
Critics argue this effectively will dismantle the federal agency in many ways. The move is seen as the fulfillment of a Trump campaign promise to reduce federal involvement in education and give states more power and control over their schools.
“The United States Supreme Court has handed a Major Victory to Parents and Students across the Country, by declaring the Trump Administration may proceed on returning the functions of the Department of Education BACK TO THE STATES,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
“Now, with this GREAT Supreme Court Decision, our Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon, may begin this very important process,” Trump added.
McMahon replied to a screenshot of Trump’s post on X, stating: “We’re on it, Mr. President!”
On Monday, the Supreme Court cast a 6-3 vote “along ideological lines,” lifting a lower court order that had blocked the layoffs and required the reinstatement of dismissed staff, The Hill reported.
The six justices in favor offered no written explanation. However, dissenting justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote that the court gave “the Executive the power to repeal statutes by firing all those necessary to carry them out.”
“The majority is either willfully blind to the implications of its ruling or naïve, but either way the threat to our Constitution’s separation of powers is great,” they wrote.
Meanwhile, McMahon praised the decision in a news release.
“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 stated.
“While today’s ruling is a significant win for students and families, it is a shame that the highest court in the land had to step in to allow President Trump to advance the reforms Americans elected him to deliver using the authorities granted to him by the U.S. Constitution,” she stated.
She also stated that the Trump administration “will carry out the reduction in force to promote efficiency and accountability” and to direct resources to students, parents, and teachers.
“As we return education to the states, this Administration will continue to perform all statutory duties while empowering families and teachers by reducing education bureaucracy,” McMahon stated.
The ruling overturns a previous decision by U.S. District Judge Myong Joun.
After nearly half of Education Department workers lost their jobs in March, Joun ruled the Trump administration could not “effectively dismantle the department without an authorizing statute,” The College Fix previously reported.
The plaintiffs “have provided an in-depth look into how the massive reduction in staff has made it effectively impossible for the Department to carry out its statutorily mandated functions,” Joun wrote.
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IMAGE CAPTION AND CREDIT: Education Department website; Gil_C/Shutterstock