Supreme Court Allows Trump Administration to Proceed with Education Department Layoffs

In a pivotal legal decision, the U.S. Supreme Court has granted the Trump administration permission to move forward with large-scale layoffs at the Department of Education, marking a major development in the administration’s effort to return control of education policy to individual states.

On Monday, the Court issued a brief, unsigned order effectively placing a lower court’s injunction on hold. That earlier ruling had blocked President Donald Trump’s plan to downsize the department and reorganize its structure. With the Supreme Court’s intervention, the administration is now free to resume its planned reduction in staff immediately, even as the broader legal case continues.

According to CNN, the Department of Education wasted no time. Just hours after the decision was announced, employees previously protected by the injunction began receiving termination notices. These workers had originally been notified of their layoffs in April but were reinstated by court order. Now, their employment will officially end on August 1.

“The Department appreciates your service and recognizes the difficulty of the moment,” read one termination email, which emphasized that the dismissals were not related to performance or misconduct, but were part of a structural reorganization. Attached to the message was a copy of the Supreme Court’s ruling.

The decision drew sharp criticism from the Court’s liberal justices. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, writing in a passionate dissent joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson, condemned the majority’s ruling as “indefensible.” She warned that allowing the administration to proceed with such drastic action—without full judicial review—posed a serious threat to the balance of powers between the branches of government.

The layoffs stem from a directive by Trump earlier this year to reduce the federal education workforce by 50%. This move was challenged in court by teachers’ unions and advocacy groups, who argued that dismantling the agency to such an extent required congressional approval. In response to their lawsuit, U.S. District Judge Myong Joun, appointed by President Joe Biden, issued an order blocking the layoffs and mandating the reinstatement of approximately 1,400 employees.

When the First Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Joun’s decision, the Trump administration appealed directly to the Supreme Court—and prevailed.

President Trump celebrated the ruling on his social media platform, Truth Social, calling it a “major win for students and parents” and reaffirming his administration’s commitment to returning educational authority to the states.

“With this GREAT Supreme Court Decision, our Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon, may begin this very important process,” Trump wrote.

Education Secretary Linda McMahon echoed the President’s sentiments in a public statement, framing the ruling as a victory for educational reform.

“The Supreme Court has reaffirmed a fundamental principle: the President has the authority to manage the structure and operations of federal agencies,” McMahon said. “This ruling allows us to move forward in reducing unnecessary bureaucracy and refocusing our resources on where they’re needed most—students, families, and teachers.”

She added that while the legal dispute had delayed the department’s plans, the administration remained committed to fulfilling all of its legal obligations while streamlining its operations.

Judge Joun had previously expressed serious concerns about the layoffs, warning that they could severely impair the department’s ability to carry out its federally mandated duties. He accused the administration of bypassing necessary legal procedures and attempting to dismantle the agency through executive action alone.

Justice Sotomayor raised similar objections in her dissent, warning that the administration had failed to examine how cutting half the workforce would affect the department’s core functions, including enforcing civil rights protections in schools.

“Rather than waiting for Congress to act, the administration chose to gut the Department unilaterally,” she wrote. “The majority today turns a blind eye to the potential harm caused by this decision.”

Sotomayor concluded her dissent by warning that the ruling could jeopardize protections for vulnerable students and diminish the federal government’s role in ensuring educational equity.

While the case remains active in the lower courts, the Supreme Court’s decision means that, for now, the Trump administration’s reorganization of the Education Department will move ahead. The long-term implications—for both federal authority in education and the department’s future—remain to be seen.