A federal district judge on Thursday blocked President Trump’s executive order to shut down the Department of Education, as well as the accompanying reduction in force that resulted in layoffs for half of the agency’s workforce.
The decision deals a setback to Trump’s push to dismantle the department and halts the swift steps taken by Education Secretary Linda McMahon to fulfill that campaign promise.
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,” District Judge Myong Joun, a Biden appointee, said. The ruling also stifles Trump’s directive to move student loans and programs for students with disabilities outside the Department of Education, The Hill reported.
The Trump administration is expected to appeal the ruling, with Education Secretary Linda McMahon maintaining that the department’s dismantling will proceed in accordance with the law. “I think [Trump] was correct in saying that we were going to do everything legally. That’s what he has said to me from the very beginning,” McMahon said during an appearance on Fox News’s “Special Report” with Bret Baier.
In his ruling, Joun found that the plaintiffs had shown evidence of irreparable harm, citing delays in federal funding to school districts and noting that the layoffs had effectively led to the “practical elimination” of key functions within the Federal Student Aid office. “The Department’s actions have directly impacted the FAFSA system and risk its functionality,” he wrote.
While only an act of Congress can formally abolish the Department of Education, President Trump and Secretary McMahon are working to shrink its size and influence as much as possible, while continuing to urge lawmakers to eliminate the agency altogether.
