U.S. President Donald Trump, who has pledged to “abolish the Department of Education” since last year’s presidential election, has been pushing for the dismissal of more than 1,000 Education Department employees after retaking power, and the U.S. Supreme Court decided on the 14th that such reduction work could be continued. It reversed the lower court’s order, which demanded the suspension of the second Trump administration, saying such a move could be illegal.
The Supreme Court said the second Trump administration’s plan to lay off about 1,400 employees and transfer key functions of the Education Department to other departments could continue. The Associated Press predicted that Linda McMahon, the education secretary who is leading the related work, will quickly dismantle the ministry. McMahon has stressed that the education ministry will provide student loans to the Treasury Department, manage human resources and adult education programs to the Labor Department, support for education for the disabled will be sent to the Health and Welfare Ministry, and civil rights-related work will be transferred to the Justice Department.
In the meantime, President Trump has strongly criticized underage students’ gender change without parental consent, education on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and critical race theory (CRT). Regarding the Ministry of Education, he also said, “It is a progressive organization that exercises excessive authority amid bureaucracy and waste,” and argued that the authority over education policy should be exercised by 50 U.S. states and parents, not the federal government. According to the New York Times (NYT), the number of employees has been halved since President Trump ordered the Education Ministry to be reduced in March this year.
However, despite the Supreme Court’s decision on the day, there is still a controversy over whether President Trump can actually completely abolish the Education Ministry. This is because Congress is the only one who has the authority to ultimately decide to abolish the ministry.
Among the nine Supreme Court justices, liberal Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elina Kagan and Curtanji Brown Jackson issued a minority opinion against the Education Ministry’s push to reduce the workforce, saying President Trump is “abusing his authority.” The three justices were concerned that the move could have serious adverse effects on students across the U.S. This is because the existing function of the Ministry of Education, which provides federal funding to low-income and disabled students and is in charge of anti-discrimination laws targeting socially disadvantaged people such as LGBTQ and minority races, will inevitably weaken significantly.
Twenty-four U.S. states, including New York and California, filed a lawsuit on the same day, claiming that the second Trump administration is not providing $6.8 billion in federal education funds to the state. The funds were originally intended to be used to provide free after-school programs to children in need of care, but controversy is mounting as the second Trump administration suddenly put the payments on hold due to “policy changes.” The New York Times said, “The president cannot unilaterally reject the spending of funds approved by Congress. The move is being criticized by both Democrats and Republicans.”
SAM KIM
US ASIA JOURNAL
