WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Thursday blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order aimed at dismantling the Education Department and ordered officials to reinstate thousands of fired employees in a ruling that marked at least a temporary setback for the president and his plans.

The decision from Judge Myong J. Joun of U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts was a preliminary injunction, meaning it will remain in force until the case is resolved or a higher court overturns it.

The injunction was requested by a pair of school districts in Massachusetts, the American Federation of Teachers and 21 Democratic state attorneys general who sued Trump in March to block his executive order and reverse a massive round of layoffs. Joun agreed with their argument that the actions equated to an illegal shutdown of the agency, which only Congress can abolish.

Court Finds Intent to Dismantle Department

“The record abundantly reveals that defendants’ true intention is to effectively dismantle the department without an authorizing statute,” Joun wrote in his order.

Madi Biedermann, the Education Department’s deputy assistant secretary for communications, said the administration would immediately challenge the decision while taking aim at the judge.

“Once again, a far-left judge has dramatically overstepped his authority, based on a complaint from biased plaintiffs,” Biedermann said in a statement. “President Trump and the Senate-confirmed secretary of education clearly have the authority to make decisions about agency reorganization efforts, not an unelected judge with a political ax to grind.”

Joun, an Army and National Guard veteran, was a board member of the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts before President Joe Biden appointed him to the federal bench in 2022.

Legal Battles Over Education Policy

In March, he temporarily ordered the Trump administration to release $65 million in teacher-training grants that had been suspended as part of Trump’s efforts to root out diversity, equity and inclusion policies. While an appeals court upheld that order, the Supreme Court in April overruled Joun and said that the suspension could remain in place.

The administration has maintained that firing nearly half of the Education Department’s employees was lawful and aimed at making the agency more efficient and functional.

Linda McMahon, the education secretary, told the House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday that as many as three-fourths of the roughly 2,000 staff members who had been fired at her agency had lost their jobs because of downsizing efforts overseen by Elon Musk and his so-called Department of Government Efficiency.

About 74 workers had since been rehired, she said.

Schools Celebrate Ruling as Victory

Ilana Krepchin, chair of the Somerville School Committee, which is one of the plaintiffs, hailed the ruling as a victory for students, teachers and families.

“Our public education system is too important to be undermined by actions that threaten our students’ rights and opportunities,” Krepchin said. “We will continue to work tirelessly to ensure that our students’ futures remain bright.”

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This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

By Michael C. Bender/Rod Lamkey Jr.
c. 2025 The New York Times Company