Supreme Court Rules On The Trump Administration’s Move To Dismantle The Department of Education

The Supreme Court just gave the Trump administration a major win.

In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that the Education Department can proceed to fire nearly 1,400 employees.

Education Secretary Linda McMahon laid off 1,400 employees in March in a move to begin dismantling the Education Department.

McMahon’s move aligns with the Trump administration’s aims to return education decisions to individual states.

Fox News covered the decision more closely:

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 employees at the Education Department.

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 Democrat-led states, who challenged the Education Department’s layoffs and planned dismantling.

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.

BREAKING: Supreme Court votes 6-3 to allow President Trump to move forward with purge of the Department of Education. pic.twitter.com/Ez5dvegD2A

— ALX 🇺🇸 (@alx) July 14, 2025

🚨 BREAKING: SUPREME COURT SIDES WITH TRUMP — gives green light to continue MASSIVE purge at the Department of Education

Nearly 1.4K employees will now be laid off, with more DRASTIC cuts on the way.

MASSIVE LOSS for left wing activists — HUGE WIN for children! 🔥

End DoE! pic.twitter.com/GxxIJOSOYA

— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) July 14, 2025

The Hill reported there’s a catch to the Supreme Court’s recent decision:

While the Supreme Court lifted an injunction on the Trump layoffs by a district judge, the case will return the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

The injunction had been placed by U.S. District Judge Myong Joun in May. Now the federal agency will have to go back to the appeals court, which will make a determination on the legality of the layoffs for the lower courts.

If the appeals court rules against the administration, the president can, once again, appeal to the Supreme Court and get on its normal docket.

The injunction would not go into place to stop the layoffs until a final ruling from the Supreme Court.

Trump has acknowledged he doesn’t have the authority to fully dismantle the Education Department on his own.
A federal Cabinet-level agency must be eliminated by Congress, and even with Republican majorities in the House and Senate, such a change is considered unlikely to move forward.

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