The Supreme Court on Monday gave the green light for the Trump administration to restart his plan to dismantle the Department of Education and proceed with laying off nearly 1,400 employees.
The decision came as part of an emergency appeal, with the Court’s conservative majority allowing the administration to move forward despite lower court rulings that had blocked the effort.
The high court’s unsigned decision put a temporary pause on an earlier ruling by U.S. District Judge Myong Joun of Boston, who issued a preliminary injunction halting the layoffs and casting doubt on the legality of the entire plan.
Judge Joun warned that the proposed layoffs would “likely cripple the department,” arguing that they would prevent the agency from fulfilling its congressional mandates.
A federal appeals court had upheld Joun’s injunction, but the Trump administration appealed to the Supreme Court, which overruled the lower courts.
The Supreme Court did not provide a written explanation for its ruling, which is typical for emergency actions. However, the Court’s three liberal justices—Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson—issued a strongly worded dissent.
Writing for the trio, Justice Sotomayor accused the majority of enabling a lawless executive agenda.