Court Greenlights Trump’s Plan to Gut Education Bureaucracy

The Supreme Court handed the Trump administration another major legal win on Monday. The ruling allows the Department of Education to proceed with mass layoffs that a lower court had previously blocked.

In a 6-3 decision along ideological lines, the Court issued an emergency order in McMahon v. State of New York. The ruling pauses an earlier decision that reinstated roughly 1,400 laid-off Education Department employees.

Trump Follows Through on Promise to Dismantle the Department of Education

In March, Education Secretary Linda McMahon laid off half of the department’s workforce. The move was part of a broader effort to return control of education to the states. President Trump followed with an executive order declaring his intent to eliminate the department entirely.

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That order triggered legal challenges from 20 Democrat-led states. They argued the cuts made the agency incapable of fulfilling its federal responsibilities. In May, a lower court judge agreed and accused the administration of trying to dismantle the Department without authorization from Congress.

The Trump administration countered that the department remains operational and is meeting its statutory obligations. Officials emphasized that shutting down the agency completely would require congressional approval and would be carried out in an orderly, lawful manner.

McMahon: “We’re Restoring Excellence”

Education Secretary McMahon welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision. “We can now deliver on our mandate to restore excellence in American education,” she said Monday.

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She added, “Closing the Department does not mean cutting off support for students. We will continue to serve K–12 students, students with special needs, and borrowers. At the same time, we are eliminating the red tape that has stalled progress for decades.”

Justice Sonia Sotomayor, one of the three dissenting justices, criticized the ruling. She called the majority’s decision “indefensible” and accused the Court of enabling lawlessness.

A Longtime Goal Realized

President Trump has consistently advocated for abolishing the Department of Education. He has called it a bloated bureaucracy that weakens local and state control. The Supreme Court’s latest ruling moves that goal closer to becoming reality.

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“As we return education to the states, this administration will continue to perform all statutory duties while empowering families and teachers by reducing education bureaucracy,” McMahon said.