Trump administration asks Supreme Court to leave mass layoffs at Education Department in place

By MARK SHERMAN WASHINGTON AP President Donald Trump s administration on Friday questioned the Supreme Court to pause a court order to reinstate Teaching Department employees who were fired in mass layoffs as part of his plan to dismantle the agency Related Articles Germany s Merz says he ascertained Trump open to dialogue and committed to NATO Pentagon watchdog investigates if staffers were questioned to delete Hegseth s Signal messages How Trump s pick for surgeon general uses her big online following to make money The Latest Trump-Musk relationship appears to implode Federal vs state power at issue in a hearing over Trump s vote overhaul executive order The Justice Department s emergency appeal to the high court noted U S District Judge Myong Joun in Boston exceeded his authority last month when he issued a preliminary injunction reversing the layoffs of nearly people and putting the broader plan on hold Joun s order has blocked one of the Republican president s biggest campaign promises and effectively stalled the effort to wind down the department A federal appeals court refused to put the order on hold while the administration appealed The judge wrote that the layoffs will likely cripple the department But Solicitor General D John Sauer wrote on Friday that Joun was substituting his plan preferences for those of the Trump administration The layoffs help put in the place the protocol of streamlining the department and eliminating discretionary functions that in the administration s view are better left to the states Sauer wrote He also pointed out that the Supreme Court in April voted - to block Joun s earlier order seeking to keep in place Schooling Department teacher-training grants The current matter involves two consolidated lawsuits that stated Trump s plan amounted to an illegal closure of the Development Department One suit was filed by the Somerville and Easthampton school districts in Massachusetts along with the American Federation of Teachers and other teaching groups The other suit was filed by a coalition of Democratic attorneys general The suits argued that layoffs left the department unable to carry out responsibilities required by Congress including duties to patronage special training distribute financial aid and enforce civil rights laws Follow the AP s coverage of the U S Supreme Court at https apnews com hub us-supreme-court