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President Donald Trump praised the Supreme Court’s decision this week allowing the Department of Education to proceed with slashing half of its workforce in an effort to cut down on unnecessary bureaucracy.
“We had a big win with the Supreme Court on the Department of Education. As you know, we want to bring education back to the states, take the federal government out of it. A little, tiny bit of supervision, but very little, almost nothing, like to make sure they speak English. That’s about all we need,” Trump told reporters on Wednesday, before saying “school choice is the answer.”
The 45th and 47th president also celebrated the ruling in a post to Truth Social, lauding it as a “major victory to parents and students across the country.”
“Now, with this GREAT Supreme Court Decision, our Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon, may begin this very important process. The Federal Government has been running our Education System into the ground, but we are going to turn it all around by giving the Power back to the PEOPLE. America’s Students will be the best, brightest, and most Highly Educated anywhere in the World. Thank you to the United States Supreme Court!” he said.
The Supreme Court issued a 6-3 ruling on Monday reversing a lower court ruling ordering the reinstatement of 1,400 Department of Education employees cut loose in mass layoffs, ultimately allowing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to continue her mission of winding down the department.
The Department of Education announced in March that it was reducing its workforce by half in an effort to streamline the department and cut down bloated bureaucracy.
Before the cuts, the Department of Education had 4,133 total staff, a number senior department officials said “exist[ed] largely to oversee contractors, add strings, and in many cases do duplicative efforts across the department.” Senior department officials said at the time the cuts would not impact student aid, the rollout of FAFSA by October 1, funding for special-needs students, Civil Rights investigations, and other functions statutorily mandated by Congress.
U.S. District Judge Myong Joun blocked the department’s downsizing effort in May, ruling that the administration needed congressional authorization. Joun ordered the department to reinstate approximately 1,400 workers who had been terminated.
The Supreme Court’s ruling lifts Joun’s injunction as litigation plays out in lower courts, meaning the case could return before the High Court.
President Trump has ultimately said he wants to see the Department of Education abolished and more power sent back to states and communities, and he has quipped that he wants McMahon “to put herself out of a job.” The president signed an executive order calling for the dismantling of the department; however, officially ending the department would take an act of Congress since it was Congress who created it 45 years ago under President Jimmy Carter.
Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on X @thekat_hamilton.
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