WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed President Donald Trump’s administration to proceed with sweeping layoffs at the Department of Education, lifting a lower court order that had blocked the dismissal of nearly 1,400 employees while legal challenges continue.
The unsigned 6-3 order paused a preliminary injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Myong Joun in Massachusetts, who had ruled that the administration’s workforce reduction likely exceeded its legal authority and threatened the department’s ability to carry out responsibilities assigned by Congress. The Supreme Court did not provide an explanation for its decision, as is common in emergency applications.
The ruling enables the administration to resume one of its most significant efforts to reduce the size of the federal government and shift greater authority over education policy to states, a central objective of Trump’s education agenda.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon welcomed the decision, saying the administration would move forward with the reduction in force while continuing to fulfill all statutory obligations assigned to the department. She said the workforce cuts were intended to improve efficiency and reduce bureaucracy while maintaining federally required functions.
The employees affected by the layoffs had remained on paid leave after Judge Joun ordered their reinstatement earlier this year. The Supreme Court’s order allows the administration to proceed with the dismissals while appeals move through the federal courts.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson, dissented. In her written dissent, Sotomayor argued that the administration was effectively attempting to dismantle a Cabinet-level department created by Congress without legislative approval and warned that the decision could permit actions of questionable legality before the courts fully resolve the case.
The lawsuits challenging the layoffs were brought by Massachusetts school districts, the American Federation of Teachers, other education organizations and a coalition of 21 Democratic attorneys general. The plaintiffs argue that the large-scale staff reductions would leave the department unable to perform congressionally mandated duties, including administering federal student aid, enforcing civil rights laws in education and supporting programs for students with disabilities.
The Trump administration has maintained that it is restructuring the department rather than eliminating it and has argued that decisions regarding staffing and agency organization fall within executive authority.
The legal challenge will continue in the lower courts, where judges will consider whether the administration’s broader restructuring of the Education Department complies with federal law and constitutional limits on executive power.
