A federal judge in Massachusetts on Thursday issued an injunction to block President Donald Trump from shutting down the Department of Education and is requiring fired employees to be reinstated.
Note: This story will be updated with future developments.
U.S. District Judge Myong Joun delivered a major blow to Linda McMahon’s efforts to “put herself out of a job” by eliminating the agency.
“The record abundantly reveals that Defendants’ true intention is to effectively dismantle the Department without an authorizing statute,” Joun wrote, adding that “the Department cannot be shut down without Congress’s approval.”
Joun added that the injunction is necessary because “the supporting declarations of former Department employees, educational institutions, unions, and educators paint a stark picture of the irreparable harm that will result from financial uncertainty and delay, impeded access to vital knowledge on which students and educators rely, and loss of essential services for America’s most vulnerable student populations.”