WASHINGTON: A US federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s move to dismantle the Department of Education and ordered the reinstatement of over 1,300 staff members who were laid off in March as part of a sweeping cost-cutting initiative.
In a preliminary order issued on Thursday, District Court Judge Myong J. Joun ruled that the mass terminations had significantly impaired the federal government’s ability to administer legally mandated education programmes and funding.
The judge, appointed by President Joe Biden and based in Massachusetts, described the administration’s actions as a deliberate attempt to bypass congressional authority.
The ruling follows a lawsuit filed by a coalition of states and education stakeholders challenging the legality of the firings.
Judge Joun stated that the staff reductions had caused “delays and uncertainty in the receipt of federal educational funding, amounting in the millions,” adding that the disruption threatened school planning for the 2025–2026 academic year.
The Trump administration has defended the cuts as part of a broader “Government Efficiency” drive led by Education Secretary Linda McMahon.
Nearly 2,000 employees—roughly half of the department’s workforce—were dismissed under the initiative, which the administration claimed would streamline operations and redirect resources toward students and teachers.
However, in his 88-page opinion, Judge Joun rejected the administration’s justification. “The idea that Defendants’ actions are merely a ‘reorganisation’ is plainly not true,” he wrote.
“Their true intention is to effectively dismantle the department without an authorising statute.” He noted that the executive branch cannot unilaterally shut down a federal agency created by Congress.
The court order restores the department to its status before the executive order issued in March by President Donald Trump, which directed federal agencies to “take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education.”
Joun’s ruling also prohibits the administration from transferring the department’s functions to other federal agencies.
“While it may be true that the President has the power to remove executive officers,” Judge Joun wrote.
“Defendants cite no case that this power includes the authority to dismantle Congressionally created departments and programmes through mass terminations.”
The Trump administration indicated it would challenge the ruling. In a statement to USA Today, Education Department spokeswoman Madi Biedermann said the government would file for an emergency stay.
“Once again, a far-left judge has dramatically overstepped his authority,” she claimed.
“President Trump and the Senate-confirmed Secretary of Education clearly have the authority to make decisions about agency reorganisation efforts.”
The ruling was welcomed by education advocates and workers’ representatives. Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers—one of the plaintiffs in the case—called the injunction a crucial step in defending the federal role in education.
“Today, the court rightly rejected one of the administration’s very first illegal and consequential acts: abolishing the federal role in education,” she said.
Rachel Gittleman, a former employee in the department’s Federal Student Aid office who was laid off in March, said the decision gave her and her colleagues hope. “Despite the harsh environment, many of us really want to go back,” she said.
The injunction is temporary, pending further court proceedings, but it provides immediate relief to thousands of K-12 schools and universities affected by the cuts.
Judge Joun noted that both short-term disruptions and long-term strategic planning in public education had been jeopardised by the administration’s actions.
While Republicans currently control both houses of Congress, any legislative move to dismantle the Education Department would require bipartisan support—a hurdle that remains politically challenging.
Judge Joun’s ruling underscores that only Congress has the authority to abolish a federal agency. “The executive order goes directly against Congress’s intent in creating the Department,” he wrote.
