Overview

• The Supreme Court stayed a preliminary injunction by US District Judge Myong J. Joun that had halted Trump’s March directive to close the department and fire nearly 1,400 staff.
• The ruling clears the path for Education Secretary Linda McMahon to carry out workforce reductions that critics say will cripple student loan, civil rights and research functions.
• Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented, warning the order grants the president power to nullify statutes by dismissing essential personnel.
• President Trump hailed the decision as a “major victory” that returns education responsibilities to the states and reaffirms executive authority over agency staffing.
• Opponents including school districts, education groups and a coalition of 21 Democratic attorneys general are pursuing two consolidated lawsuits now headed back to the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.