Another federal judge ruled against President Donald Trump on Thursday, this time to block his order to close down the Department of Education.
U.S. District Judge Myong Joun said the order needed congressional approval and rejected the government’s argument that it was merely a “reorganization” of the department. He cited the president’s statement from March ordering the ED secretary to “take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department.”
‘The record abundantly reveals that Defendants’ true intention is to effectively dismantle the Department without an authorizing statute.’
Joun also ordered the president to rehire the ED employees he fired so that the department could be restored “to the status quo such that it is able to carry out its statutory functions.”
Ed. Dept. Secretary Linda McMahon fired 1,300 department employees before the president issued an executive order to disperse many of the office’s functions to other federal agencies in March. He said the order was “historic” in a statement at the time.
“After 45 years, the United States spends more money on education by far than any other country and spends likewise, by far, more money per pupil, and it’s not even close,” said the president. “But yet, we rank near the bottom of the list in terms of success. Closing the Department of Education would provide children and their families the opportunity to escape a system that is failing them.”
Juon said in the 88-page ruling that the president needed congressional approval to shut down the department.
“The record abundantly reveals that Defendants’ true intention is to effectively dismantle the Department without an authorizing statute,” said the judge.
RELATED: Trump signs executive order eliminating the Department of Education
Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Federal judges have stymied many of the president’s orders to reorganize and cut down on the size of the federal government on the basis that doing so requires congressional approval. Critics say the judges are politically motivated, and some have called on the president to ignore the decisions.
Joun was nominated by former President Joe Biden to the court in 2022.
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