SCOTUS greenlights mass DOE firings

The Supreme Court will allow the Trump administration to further shrink the Education Department

Secretary of Education Linda McMahon at a hearing on Capitol Hill
Secretary of Education Linda McMahon at a hearing on Capitol Hill
(Image credit: Salwan Georges / The Washington Post via Getty Images)

What happened

The Supreme Court Monday paved the way for President Donald Trump's administration to conduct mass layoffs across the Department of Education without approval from Congress. The decision lifts a May injunction blocking Trump's executive order aimed at carrying out his campaign promise of closing the department. All three liberal justices dissented.

Who said what

Trump celebrated the decision on his Truth Social platform, calling it a "major victory" for students and parents. The ruling "lifts the handcuffs off" the administration so it can "get education back to the states," Education Secretary Linda McMahon told Fox News. But Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in a 19-page dissent that the court was expediting the administration's "intent to break the law" and that "the threat to our Constitution's separation of powers is grave."

The DOE's staff of 4,000 has already been "greatly diminished" — by about half — since January, said The New York Times. Eliminating it entirely would require an act of Congress, and "most Americans want to preserve the department," The Wall Street Journal said, citing polling. Still, the ruling "continues a winning streak for the president's efforts to trim the federal government and assert his authority over the executive branch," said The Washington Post.

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What next?

Legal challenges to the executive order will continue in lower courts, but some employees received notice of their termination almost immediately following the SCOTUS decision.

Jessica Hullinger

Jessica Hullinger is a writer and former deputy editor of The Week Digital. Originally from the American Midwest, she completed a degree in journalism at Indiana University Bloomington before relocating to New York City, where she pursued a career in media. After joining The Week as an intern in 2010, she served as the title’s audience development manager, senior editor and deputy editor, as well as a regular guest on “The Week Unwrapped” podcast. Her writing has featured in other publications including Popular Science, Fast Company, Fortune, and Self magazine, and she loves covering science and climate-related issues.