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Another win for Donald Trump as US Supreme Court clears way to gut education department
Winding down the education department was one of Donald Trump's biggest promises during his presidential campaign.
US President Donald Trump secured another win on Monday as the Supreme Court cleared the way for his plan to dismantle the Department of Education, allowing him to lay off nearly 1,400 workers.
The top court justices lifted a federal judge's order reinstating the workers affected by the mass layoffs at the education department and blocking the Trump administration from transferring major functions to other federal agencies.
US District Judge Myong Joun in Boston had said that the layoffs "will likely cripple the department".
This is the second major win for Trump from the top court in a week. The Supreme Court last week cleared the way for Trump's sweeping plan to downsize the federal workforce, overriding lower court rulings that had temporarily blocked the move.
The dismantling of the education department is a part of the US President's plan to shrink the role of federal government in education to allow more state control.
One of Trump's biggest promises during his presidential campaign was to wind down the education department, which the US Supreme Court has now cleared the path for.
The top court, however, did not explain the reason for its decision in Trump's favour, as is customary in emergency appeals.
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Justice Sonia Sotomayor complained in dissent that her colleagues were allowing legally questionable action on the Trump administration's part. "When the Executive publicly announces its intent to break the law, and then executes on that promise, it is the Judiciary's duty to check that lawlessness, not expedite it," she wrote for herself, and Justices Ketanji Brown Jackson and Elena Kagan.
According to a union that represents some of the education department's staff said that employees, who were targeted by the mass layoffs, had been on paid leave since March.
Judge Myong Juon's order had earlier prevented the education department from fully dismissing these employees, though none were allowed to work either, according to the American Federation of Government Employees Local 252. The employees would have been terminated in early June itself, had it not been for Juon's order.
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In June, the education department said that it was "actively assessing how to reintegrate" employees. A department email asked staffers to share if they had gained other employment, saying that the request was aimed at supporting a "smooth and informed return to duty".
The case that the top court heard consisted of two consolidated lawsuits against the President's plan, which they said was an illegal closure of the education department.
One suit was filed by the Somerville and Easthampton school districts in Massachusetts, along with the American Federation of Teachers and other education groups. The other suit was filed by a group of 21 Democratic attorneys general.
The lawsuits argued that the layoffs left the education department unable to carry out its responsibilities as required by Congress, including duties to support special education, distribute financial aid and enforce civil rights law.
(with inputs from AP)
