The Supreme Court ruled Monday that President Donald Trump has the authority to cut half the Department of Education’s staff.
Earlier this year, Trump and Education Linda McMahon began dismantling the agency with the stated goal of “returning education authority to the states.” They moved to fire 1,400 ED employees in March but the layoffs were contested in court by several education and labor groups.
The ruling lifts an injunction placed on the administration by a lower court judge. Though the court case will continue, McMahon called the decision “a significant win for students and families.”
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“The U.S. Department of Education will now deliver on its mandate to restore excellence in American education,” McMahon added. “We will carry out the reduction in force to promote efficiency and accountability and to ensure resources are directed where they matter most—to students, parents, and teachers.”
Cuts at the Department of Education are having an impact on the distribution of financial aid, said Melanie Storey, president and CEO and the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. Financial aid offices trying to work with the administration have faced operational delays, communication disruptions and “breakdowns in federal support systems,” Storey noted in a statement.
“With significantly more work on the horizon to implement the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, we reiterate our concerns that the Trump administration has not shared the details of a plan to redistribute the Department’s work in a way that does not cause significant disruption for America’s college students,” Storey added.
One of the plaintiffs in the case, the American Federation of Teachers, said the ruling was “a significant blow to public education.”
“This unlawful plan will immediately and irreparably harm students, educators and communities across our nation,” the union’s president, Randi Weingarten, said in a statement. “Children will be among those hurt the most by this decision.”
