Boston, Massachussetts - A federal appeals court upheld a ruling blocking President attempt to gut and then eventually shut down the Department of Education via executive order.
President Donald Trump's executive order attempting to dismantle the Department of Education has been struck down on appeal by a federal court. © AFP/Jeff Swensen/Getty ImagesThe Boston court's refusal to overrule a previous order effectively means that Education Secretary Linda McMahon will be forced to reinstate employees who were laid off over the months since Trump was inaugurated.
, the mass terminations "likely violated the separation of powers" between the executive and the legislature, as only Congress has the power to dissolve a government department.
The injunction means McMahon is not allowed to carry out Trump's executive order, must not attempt to do so under "a different name," and has to reinstate fired employees while providing the court with evidence of compliance.
The Department of Justice is now expected to take the case to the Supreme Court, where conservatives hold a 6-3 majority.
Advocacy groups have hailed the injunction as a win that will help stop Trump's mass terminations on the spot and could effectively block moves to totally dismantle the Department of Education.
"Today’s order means that the Trump administration’s disastrous mass firings of career civil servants are blocked while this wildly disruptive and unlawful agency action is litigated," saidPresident Skye Perryman after the initial injunction was issued on May 22.
"No one’s lives are being made better by this administration’s attempted dismantling of the Department of Education."
