Judge halts dismantling of Education Department, orders fired workers to be reinstated

A federal judge issued an injunction blocking the Trump administration from dismantling the Education Department and ordered that fired workers be reinstated.

A federal judge in Massachusetts on Thursday issued an injunction blocking the Trump administration from dismantling the Department of Education and ordering that fired employees be reinstated.

“The record abundantly reveals that Defendants’ true intention is to effectively dismantle the Department without an authorizing statute,” U.S. District Judge Myong Joun wrote, noting “the Department cannot be shut down without Congress’s approval.”

The judge said an injunction was 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.”

Before the mass firings, or reduction in force, “the Department was already struggling to meet its goals, so it is only reasonable to expect that an RIF of this magnitude will likely cripple the Department,” Joun wrote.

A spokesperson for the Education Department, Madi Biedermann, said officials “will immediately challenge this on an emergency basis.”