Supreme Court rules on Education Department cutting half its staff

The Supreme Court cleared the way for the Education Department to fire hundreds of employees on Monday, a move that advances President Donald Trump’s plans to dismantle the department.

The high court’s decision in McMahon v. State of New York was issued 6-3 along ideological lines.

The decision temporarily pauses an order by a lower court judge that had reinstated roughly 1,400 laid-off employees at the Education Department.

In a statement later Monday evening on Truth Social, Trump celebrated the Supreme Court’s order, which marked the latest in a string of emergency decisions by the high court that have been favorable to Trump as he attempts to reshape the federal government.

“The United States Supreme Court has handed a Major Victory to Parents and Students across the Country, by declaring the Trump Administration may proceed on returning the functions of the Department of Education BACK TO THE STATES,” Trump wrote.

DEM AGS SUE OVER TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION LAYOFFS

The Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C. (Valerie Plesch/picture alliance via Getty Images)

In March, Education Secretary Linda McMahon laid off half of the department’s workforce as part of the Trump administration’s broader reduction in force efforts. Later that month, Trump announced in an executive order that he planned to shutter the department altogether.

The Supreme Court’s order arose from two lawsuits, including one brought by 20 Democratic-led states that challenged the Education Department’s layoffs and planned closure.

The plaintiffs argued to the high court that the Trump administration’s actions have rendered the Education Department incapable of carrying out legally mandated work, such as reviewing certifications of higher education institutions for federal aid purposes.

Judge Myong Joun agreed in May, finding that the “record abundantly reveals” that the administration’s “true intention is to effectively dismantle the Department without an authorizing statute.”

The Trump administration responded that the layoffs did not prove the department was being shuttered and that the department is still carrying out its legally required functions. Trump would need Congress’s approval to fully shut down the department’s work.

SPARKS FLY BETWEEN EDUCATION SECRETARY LINDA MCMAHON AND DEM REP. WATSON COLEMAN: ‘YOU SHOULD FEEL SHAMEFUL’

Education Secretary Linda McMahon attends a Make America Healthy Again event in the East Room of the White House, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Justice Sonia Sotomayor, one of the three dissenting justices, said the majority’s emergency decision was “indefensible.”

“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,” Sotomayor wrote.

McMahon said in a statement at the time of Trump’s executive order that the Education Department’s legally required obligations would still be met.

“Closing the Department does not mean cutting off funds from those who depend on them – we will continue to support K-12 students, students with special needs, college student borrowers, and others who rely on essential programs,” McMahon said in March. “We’re going to follow the law and eliminate the bureaucracy responsibly by working through Congress to ensure a lawful and orderly transition.”

Trump on the campaign trail said his administration would work to shutter the Department of Education. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The education secretary celebrated the Supreme Court’s temporary ruling on Monday, saying her department would “now deliver on its mandate to restore excellence in American education.”

“As we return education to the states, this administration will continue to perform all statutory duties while empowering families and teachers by reducing education bureaucracy,” McMahon said.