Supreme Court allows Trump to resume Education Department dismantling
The three liberal justices on the nine-member panel dissented.
Trump pledged during his White House campaign to eliminate the Education Department, which was created by an act of Congress in 1979, and he moved in March to slash its workforce by nearly half.
Trump instructed Education Secretary Linda McMahon to "put herself out of a job."
Around 20 states joined teachers' unions in challenging the move in court, arguing that the Republican president was violating the principle of separation of powers by encroaching on Congress's prerogatives.
In May, District Judge Myong Joun ordered the reinstatement of hundreds of fired Education Department employees.
The Supreme Court lifted the judge's order without explanation, just days after another ruling that cleared the way for Trump to carry out mass firings of federal workers in other government departments.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor, in a dissent joined by justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson, said in the Education ruling that "only Congress has the power to abolish the Department."
"The majority is either willfully blind to the implications of its ruling or naive, but either way the threat to our Constitution's separation of powers is grave," Sotomayor said.
Traditionally, the federal government has had a limited role in education in the United States, with only about 13 percent of funding for primary and secondary schools coming from federal coffers, the rest being funded by states and local communities.
But federal funding is invaluable for low-income schools and students with special needs. And the federal government has been essential in enforcing key civil rights protections for students.
After returning to the White House in January, Trump directed federal agencies to prepare sweeping workforce reduction plans as part of wider efforts by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) -- previously headed by Elon Musk -- to downsize the government.
Trump has moved to fire tens of thousands of government employees and slash programs -- targeting diversity initiatives and abolishing the Education Department, the US humanitarian aid agency USAID and others.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Euronews
17 minutes ago
- Euronews
Trump faces MAGA backlash over Epstein files and arms for Ukraine
First the Epstein files, now arms for Ukraine: US President Donald Trump is facing growing backlash from his MAGA base — including conspiracy theorists online and a key ally in Congress — over some of his administration's most high-profile recent decisions. Far-right influencers voiced outrage last week when the US Justice Department suddenly walked back the notion that the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein kept a "client list" of elites who participated in the late financier's trafficking of underage girls. Trump quickly defended US Attorney General Pam Bondi — who suggested in February that such a document was on her desk, only to later clarify that she was referring to the overall case file — and criticised a reporter for daring to ask about the documents. Some MAGA supporters online called the US president "out of touch" and demanded transparency over the government's files on Epstein, a call backed by conservative influencers and even Republican congresswoman and key Trump ally Marjorie Taylor Greene. "America deserves the truth about Jeffrey Epstein and the rich powerful elites in his circle," the isolationist congresswoman from Georgia wrote on X on Monday. Separately on Monday, Greene also criticised Trump's decision to provide arms for Ukraine. Earlier on Monday, Trump had threatened Russia with steep tariffs and announced a pipeline for US weapons to reach Ukraine, hardening his stance toward the Kremlin after months of frustration about unsuccessful negotiations for ending Moscow's full-scale invasion. The US president said that billions of dollars' worth of US weapons would go to Ukraine — including Patriot air defence systems — and emphasised that NATO allies in Europe would foot the bill. In an interview with the New York Times, Greene said the move was a betrayal of the America First agenda that Trump campaigned on. "It's not just Ukraine, it's all foreign wars in general and a lot of foreign aid," she told the newspaper. Greene also questioned Trump's assertion that the decision to arm Ukraine would not come at any cost to Washington, citing indirect expenses such as using US troops to train Ukrainian forces on the weapons being sent. "Without a shadow of a doubt, our tax dollars are being used," Greene added. A problem of Trump's own making? Other members of MAGA, such as ex-Trump strategist Steve Bannon, have also condemned the decision to send weapons to Ukraine. "We're about to arm people we have literally no control over," Bannon said of Ukraine on his podcast. "This is old-fashioned, grinding war in the bloodlands of Europe — and we're being dragged into it." Bannon, like Greene, has also voiced his frustration over the handling of the Epstein files. At Turning Point USA's Student Action Summit over the weekend, Bannon said that the Trump administration could "lose 10% of the MAGA movement" due to the base's anger over the saga. That could cost the Republicans 40 House seats next year, he warned. Conservative talk show host and another Trump ally Tucker Carlson also spoke at the summit and criticised the US government over the Epstein files. "The fact that the US government, the one that I voted for, refused to take my question seriously and instead said: 'Case closed, shut up conspiracy theorist,' was too much for me," the former Fox News Host told the event. "And I don't think the rest of us should be satisfied with that." The unusual challenge for Trump is that this appears to be a problem of his own making. Trump has spent years stoking dark conspiracy theories and embracing QAnon-tinged narratives proposing him as the only saviour who can stop the so-called "deep state" — an alleged secret network of power that uses the government to promote their own sinister agenda. The value of such an approach is that it helps individuals gain political power, according to Russell Muirhead, who teaches political science at Dartmouth College. He said Trump has exploited that "more ably than anybody probably in American history". However, the conspiratorial community that Trump helped build is now coming back to haunt him — by demanding answers that he either cannot or does not want to provide, said Matt Dallek, a political scientist at George Washington University. "The faulty assumption Trump and others make is they can peddle conspiracy theories without any blowback," he said. "The Epstein case is a neat encapsulation that it is hard to put the genie back in the bottle." Far-right commentator Jack Posobiec said at the Student Action Summit on Saturday that he would not rest "until we go full 6 Jan committee on the Jeffrey Epstein files", referring to the panel that investigated the 2021 Capitol insurrection. Trump's struggle to stop blowback Trump on Saturday used his Truth Social platform to again attempt to call his supporters off the Epstein trail amid reports of infighting between Bondi and FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino over the issue. The US president suggested the turmoil was undermining his administration — "all over a guy who never dies, Jeffrey Epstein". His first-term national security adviser, Michael Flynn, pleaded with Trump to reconsider. "Please understand the Epstein affair is not going away," Flynn wrote on Saturday in a post on X directed at Trump, adding that failing to address unanswered Epstein questions would make facing other national challenges "much harder". Other Trump allies continue to push for answers, among them far-right activist Laura Loomer, who has called for Bondi to resign and said that a special counsel should be appointed to investigate the handling of the files on Epstein. However, experts who study conspiracy theories warn that greater transparency does not necessarily make far-fetched narratives disappear. "For some portion of this set of conspiracy theory believers, no amount of contradictory evidence will ever be enough," said Josephine Lukito, who studies conspiracy theorists at the University of Texas at Austin.
France 24
2 hours ago
- France 24
Prosecutor asks Brazil's Supreme Court to find Bolsonaro guilty of coup
Bolsonaro is accused of seeking to overturn the 2022 election won by his left-wing opponent, current President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. The prosecution told the court that former army officer Bolsonaro and seven others were guilty of participating in "armed criminal association" and had sought to "violently overthrow the democratic order." The case now goes to Justice Alexandre de Moraes. If found guilty, Bolsonaro and his co-defendants could face up to 40 years in prison. Bolsonaro, who served as president from 2019-2023 before Lula replaced him, says he is the victim of a political persecution. Prosecutors say Bolsonaro tried to overturn his 2022 loss in a plot that only failed because the military did not side with him. Violent supporters then rioted, rampaging through government buildings in the capital Brasilia in scenes that echoed the assault on the US Capitol by Trump's supporters after the Republican lost to Democrat Joe Biden in 2020. The trial has attracted attention from Trump, who returned to power in the 2024 election and continues to claim -- despite this being rejected repeatedly by the courts -- that he won in 2020. Trump has repeatedly called on social media for Bolsonaro's trial to be stopped, accusing the authorities in Brazil of mounting a "witch hunt" and a "disgrace." On July 9, he took his campaign to extraordinary new levels by announcing plans to tariff Brazilian imports to the United States at 50 percent. Unlike the tariffs Trump is slapping on countries around much of the world, including top US allies, the measures against Brazil -- which are set to take effect August 1 -- were announced in openly political terms. Trump cited "Brazil's insidious attacks on Free Elections" among other issues, warning of further escalation if the country retaliated -- something Lula indicated would happen. On Friday, Trump reiterated his claim that Bolsonaro was being unfairly treated. "They're treating President Bolsonaro very unfairly," Trump told reporters, calling him "a good man." "I know the honest ones, and I know the crooked ones," he added. © 2025 AFP
Euronews
3 hours ago
- Euronews
Trump to slam Russia with 100% tariffs if no Ukraine deal in 50 days
US President Donald Trump said on Monday he has struck a deal with NATO to purchase the weapons that will be delivered to Ukraine, as he met NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Washington. "We made a deal today where we will be sending weapons to (Ukraine) and NATO will be paying for it," Trump announced at a press conference at the White House. The US is ready to implement 100% tariffs on Russia in response to President Vladimir Putin's lack of interest in ending his war in Ukraine, which could kick in in 50 days, according to Trump. "We're very unhappy with Russia and we'll be doing very severe tariffs … at about 100%," Trump said. "We've spent $250 billion on this war … and we want to see it end. I am disappointed in Putin because I thought we'd have a deal two months ago," he added. Trump has publicly expressed irritation with Russian President Vladimir Putin's reluctance to reach a peace deal in Ukraine, accusing the Russian leader of throwing "bulls**t" at Washington. "I am very disappointed with President Putin," Trump said. "I thought he was somebody that meant what he said. And he'll talk so beautifully and then he'll bomb people at night. We don't like that." In an about-turn last week, Trump said that Washington would send sophisticated weapons, including Patriot air defence systems, to Ukraine via NATO. The Patriot missile system can detect and intercept a wide range of oncoming air targets, high-end ballistic missiles in particular, and is regarded as one of the world's best, at a time when Moscow is increasing its nightly missile and drone attacks amid its all-out war against Ukraine, now well into its fourth year. Speaking at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome on Thursday, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Germany would pay for two of the systems, while Norway has agreed to supply one. Other European partners have also said they are prepared to help, Zelenskyy said. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday that some of the US-made weapons that Ukraine is seeking are already deployed with NATO allies in Europe. Those weapons could be transferred to Ukraine quickly, with European countries buying replacements from the US, he said. "It's a lot faster to move something, for example, from Germany to Ukraine than it is to order it from a (US) factory and get it there," Rubio told reporters during a visit to the ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur. After repeated Russian drone and missile onslaughts on Kyiv, authorities announced on Friday that they are establishing a comprehensive drone interception system under a project called Clear Sky. The project includes a 260-million-hryvnia (approximately €5.3 million) investment in interceptor drones, operator training, and new mobile response units, according to Tymur Tkachenko, the head of the Kyiv military administration. Rutte will be in Washington on Monday and Tuesday for talks with Trump, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and members of Congress. "I'm gonna have a meeting with the secretary general who's coming in tomorrow," Trump told reporters in Washington on Sunday night. "But we basically are going to send them various pieces of very sophisticated (weapons) and they're gonna pay us 100% for them." Trump and Rutte last met at the NATO summit in the Hague in late June.
