Judge temporarily blocks Trump admin's push to eliminate Education Department
A federal judge issued an injunction halting President Trump’s executive order to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education.
The ruling, prompted by lawsuits from Democratic officials and teachers' unions, cited potential harm to vulnerable student populations.
A federal judge has blocked the enforcement of President Donald Trump’s efforts to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education.
On May 22, U.S. District Judge Myong Joun of Massachusetts issued an injunction against Trump’s orders—which were signed back in March—to completely abolish the department, fire employees, and give control over education policy back to the states, according to the Associated Press.
Joun’s ruling came in response to lawsuits filed by Democratic state attorney generals, the American Federation of Teachers and two school districts in Massachusetts.
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“This court cannot be asked to cover its eyes while the Department’s employees are continuously fired and units are transferred out until the Department becomes a shell of itself,” Joun wrote in his opinion granting the injunction.
The judge continued, citing the perceived “irreparable harm that will result from financial uncertainty and delay” and the “loss of essential services for America’s most vulnerable student populations.”
Education Department spokesperson Madi Biedermann said the agency is poised to “immediately” challenge Joun’s ruling, according to NBC.
“Once again, a far-left Judge has dramatically overstepped his authority, based on a complaint from biased plaintiffs, and issued an injunction against the obviously lawful efforts to make the Department of Education more efficient and functional for the American people,” Biedermann stated.
In March, President Donald Trump issued an executive order to eliminate the Education Department. In the order, the White House directed Education Secretary Linda McMahon to take “all necessary steps” to close the the department and “return education authority to the States.”
Trump has previously said that he told McMahon, “I hope you do a great job and put yourself out of a job.”
“One other thing I’ll be doing very early in the administration is closing up the Department of Education in Washington D.C., and sending all education and education work and needs back to the states,” Trump said in 2023.
Prior to Joun’s order, President Trump had cut down the number of employees in the Education Department by around half, from 4,133 at the time of his inauguration to 2,183 as of March.
President Trump’s attempts to dismantle the department have seen support in Congress, with Rep. Michael Rulli (R-Ohio) introducing legislation in March to codify Trump’s attempt to remove the department.
Campus Reform has contacted the U.S. Department of Education for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
