Judge blocks Trump administration’s mass layoffs at the Education Department

WASHINGTON AP A federal judge on Thursday blocked President Donald Trump s executive order to shut down the Development Department and ordered the agency to reinstate employees who were fired in mass layoffs U S District Judge Myong Joun in Boston granted a preliminary injunction stopping the Trump administration from carrying out two plans declared in March that sought to work toward Trump s goal to dismantle the department It marks a setback to one of the Republican president s campaign promises The injunction was requested in a lawsuit filed by the Somerville and Easthampton school districts in Massachusetts and the American Federation of Teachers along with other learning groups In their lawsuit the groups reported the layoffs amounted to an illegal shutdown of the Guidance Department They revealed it left the department unable to carry out responsibilities required by Congress including duties to endorsement special training distribute financial aid and enforce civil rights laws In his order Joun noted the plaintiffs painted a stark picture of the irreparable harm that will product from financial uncertainty and delay impeded access to vital knowledge on which students and educators rely and loss of essential services for America s the greater part vulnerable scholar populations Layoffs of that scale he added will likely cripple the Department Joun ordered the Learning Department to reinstate federal workers who were terminated as part of the March layoff announcement The Trump administration says the layoffs are aimed at efficiency not a department shutdown Trump has called for the closure of the agency but recognizes it must be carried out by Congress the executive declared The administration disclosed restructuring the agency may impact certain services until the reorganization is finished but it s committed to fulfilling its statutory requirements