Judge Blocks Attempt to Shutter Department of Education
U.S. District Judge Myong Joun has blocked the Trump Administration's plan to terminate hundreds of U.S. Department of Education (ED) employees, finding it was a covert attempt to dismantle the department without Congressional approval. He dismissed the Administration's claim that the mass layoffs, announced in March, aimed to improve efficiency. Instead, evidence showed that these cuts disrupted essential services for students, families, and states, ultimately decreasing efficiency.
For instance, Judge Joun pointed out that a record number of complaints filed with ED's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) from 2021 to 2024 created a yearly backlog. He emphasized that the Administration’s closure of seven field offices and halving the staff at OCR, while facing a backlog of complaints, made it impossible for the office to complete investigations and resolve cases promptly and fairly. Judge Joun concluded that the large-scale staff reductions aligned more closely with President Donald Trump's campaign promise to eliminate the ED, a goal that cannot be pursued legally without Congressional authorization.