A federal judge has blocked President Donald Trump’s (R) executive order aiming to dismantle the Department of Education, arguing that doing so requires Congressional approval.
Thursday morning, U.S. District Judge Myong Joun of Boston, appointed by former President Joe Biden (D), issued a preliminary injunction preventing Trump Administration from following through with plans announced in March that would have made progress toward the Department’s elimination and “to restore the Department to the status quo.”
The federal judge also barred the Administration from transferring the management of federal student loans and special education functions out of the Department.
Under this ruling, any employees who have already been fired in connection with these efforts must be reinstated to their former positions.
“The idea that Defendants’ actions are merely a ‘reorganization’ is plainly not true,” Joun wrote in his decision.
“Defendants do acknowledge, as they must, that the Department cannot be shut down without Congress’s approval, yet they simultaneously claim that their legislative goals (obtaining Congressional approval to shut down the Department) are distinct from their administrative goals (improving efficiency),” his ruling continues. “There is nothing in the record to support these contradictory positions.”
“Not only is there no evidence that Defendants are pursuing a ‘legislative goal’ or otherwise working with Congress to reach a resolution, but there is also no evidence that the RIF has actually made the Department more efficient,” he argued. “Rather, the record is replete with evidence of the opposite.”
Bringing this lawsuit were the Somerville and Easthampton school districts in Massachusetts, alongside the American Federation of Teachers and other education groups.
In their suit, these groups alleged that the layoffs undertaken by the Administration amounted to an illegal attempt at shutting down the Department without Congressional approval, as they said the agency was effectively rendered unable to carry out its duties.
Joun’s decision appears to agree with this interpretation, explaining that the Plaintiffs painted a “stark picture of the irreparable harm that will result from financial uncertainty and delay, impeded access to vital knowledge on which students and educators rely, and loss of essential services for America’s most vulnerable student populations.”
The judge went onto suggest that the layoffs “will likely cripple the Department.”
The Trump Administration has said that it understands only Congress has the authority to dismantle the Department, suggesting that the firings at issue in this case were aimed at improving government efficiency.
[RELATED: Donald Trump Signs Executive Order to Begin Dismantling the Department of Education]
President Trump signed an executive order in late March, flanked by students and educators in a White House signing event, that set the ball in motion for the Department of Education’s ultimate dismemberment by Congress.
“Our Nation’s bright future relies on empowered families, engaged communities, and excellent educational opportunities for every child,” the president wrote in his executive order. “Unfortunately, the experiment of controlling American education through Federal programs and dollars — and the unaccountable bureaucracy those programs and dollars support — has plainly failed our children, our teachers, and our families.”
The order directed Education Secretary Linda McMahon to begin the process of dismantling the Department by undertaking actions within her authority.
The White House explained at the time that core functions of the Department of Education, like administering grant programs, would continue despite the executive order.
On the campaign trail, the president frequently promised that if given the opportunity he would dismantle the DOE and give states full control over public education within their borders.
When discussing McMahon’s nomination, Trump said that he hoped to see her “put herself out of a job.”
While Trump has brought the conversation over ending the DOE to the forefront, it is far from a new proposal.
Founded in 1979 during former President Jimmy Carter’s (D) administration, then presidential candidate Ronald Reagan (R) campaigned on the promise of dismantling the fledgling agency.
”There’s too much Federal Government in education,” a 1983 New York Times article quoted Reagan as having said.
In the years since, opposition to the Department has resurfaced multiple times, but the movement to eliminate the agency was reignited during Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign.
Since taking office, Trump has repeatedly expressed his commitment to close the Department entirely.
“The Department of Education is a big con job,” Trump said earlier this year, reiterating the disconnect between America’s high level of per pupil spending and the comparatively poor performance of students.
In a message to Department staff, Secretary McMahon said that the “final mission” of the agency is to “[accomplish] the elimination of bureaucratic bloat…quickly and responsibly.”
Prior to Trump’s March executive order, the Department had already begun reducing the size and power of the agency, including through mass layoffs.
According to a press release from the Department, impacted staff were to be placed on administrative leave, receiving full pay and benefits through June 9. Terminated employees would also have received severance pay in accordance with regular practices.
Included in this staffing reduction were the nearly 600 employees who accepted voluntary resignation and retirement offers.
Along these same lines, more than $600 million in grants to institutions and nonprofits “to train teachers and education agencies on divisive ideologies” were also eliminated in mid-February.
According to the BBC, the Department was allocated $238 billion in FY2024 — about two percent of the federal government’s total budget — and, prior to these layoffs, was comprised of around 4,400 employees, the fewest of any cabinet-level department.
Many of the Department’s responsibilities are financial in nature, providing funding to public schools through two primary streams: Title I, which supports schools in low-income areas, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
Also within the DOE’s purview are student loans and the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, more commonly known as FAFSA.
Although the Department has no role in determining what public schools teach throughout the country, it does oversee the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), colloquially known as the “Nation’s Report Card.”
Should Congress eventually move to abolish the Department, many of these core functions are expected to be reassigned to other governmental agencies as appropriate.
“Closure of the Department of Education would drastically improve program implementation in higher education,” the president has argued. “Ultimately, the Department of Education’s main functions can, and should, be returned to the States.”
