Overview

• On July 16 the Supreme Court issued a one-paragraph unsigned emergency order lifting a lower court injunction that had reinstated 1,378 laid-off Department of Education employees.
• The high court’s 6–3 vote split along ideological lines, with Justices Jackson, Kagan and Sotomayor dissenting on separation-of-powers grounds.
• The decision clears the way for the administration to continue mass layoffs and shift federal student loans, civil rights enforcement and other programs to states or other agencies.
• Education Secretary Linda McMahon called the ruling a win for students and families, and President Trump celebrated reclaiming education authority for local control.
• Consolidated challenges to the workforce reductions remain pending in lower courts amid warnings that staffing cuts could disrupt federally mandated services for low-income and disabled students.