Judge blocks Trump administration from attempting to dismantle Department of Education
ABC News
Peter Charalambous
May 22, 2025
The judge’s ruling blocks the government from firing half the DOE’s workforce.
A federal judge in Boston has blocked the Trump administration from attempting to dismantle the Department of Education.
U.S. District Judge Myong Joun issued a preliminary injunction Thursday that bars the Trump administration from firing half the Department of Education’s workforce.
The order from Judge Joun — a Biden appointee — also prohibits the Department of Education from transferring the management of federal student loans to the Small Business Administration.
The decision marks the first time a federal judge has determined the Trump administration’s sweeping changes to the Department of Education are unlawful.
For now, the order puts a stop to the Trump administration’s effort to fire more than 2,000 Department of Education employees, transfer federal student loan obligations, and otherwise implement the president’s March 20 executive order to “take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education.”