The Supreme Court ruled Monday that President Donald Trump has the authority to move forward with widespread layoffs within the Department of Education, siding with the administration in a high-profile case centered on the limits of executive power over federal agencies.
In a 6-3 decision, the court’s conservative majority granted the Trump administration’s emergency application to lift a lower court injunction that had blocked the layoffs. The ruling allows the administration to proceed with its plan to cut approximately half of the department’s workforce and reassign many of its responsibilities to other federal agencies.
After taking office in January, President Trump announced plans to restructure the federal government with a focus on reducing both the size and cost of federal agencies. On March 20, he signed an executive order instructing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to “facilitate the closure of the Department of Education,” in line with his campaign pledge to scale back federal involvement in education policy.
The department has about 4,400 employees and a $68 billion budget.
The administration has indicated that certain programs and functions will be absorbed by departments such as Labor and Health and Human Services, while a significant portion of education oversight will be returned to the states.
The decision is a major for the Trump Administration’s efforts to overhaul the federal government and is expected to set a precedent for future executive actions targeting other agencies.
With the Supreme Court’s ruling in place, the Department of Education is expected to begin phased layoffs within weeks, with the administration targeting a complete closure of the department’s operations by the end of the year.
They sided with him because he’s right.
Layoffs are a small step, easily brought back up at a later date.
Trump promised to eliminate the DOE, which requires an act of Congress to insure it’s never restructured again.
This was not, of course, in the Big Beautiful (Spending on expanding the permanent government) Bill.
Another essential promise proved empty with this administration.
The bottom line is Carter’s creation was a disaster for education. Test scores plummeted as the focus became indoctrinating 5 year olds in perversion. This is a state responsibility under the Tenth Amendment and they can do just fine. Red states like Mississippi are improving while blue states like Massachusetts are withering on the vine. Essentially, SCOTUS affirmed that the President runs the Executive branch and can determine staffing levels.
I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again: The Dept of Education has done more damage to the USA than even the EPA.
John Hancock…YOU HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD!!!