As is common with cases decided on the emergency docket, the majority did not explain its rationale for the decision. Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote a scathing dissent that was joined by the court’s two other liberals, labeling the ruling “indefensible” and a major expansion of presidential power.
She added that the court “hands the Executive the power to repeal statutes by firing all those necessary to carry them out. 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.”
The ruling continues a winning streak for the president’s efforts to trim the federal government and assert his authority over the executive branch. The justices have signed off on Trump’s plans to fire thousands of other federal workers, remove the heads of independent agencies and freeze up to $65 million in grants to alleviate teacher shortages. The administration said those grants promoted diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives that discriminate against White and Asian people.
Trump has said he wants to dismantle the Education Department, saying the move would allow “children and their families the opportunity to escape a system that is failing them,” but administration officials acknowledge that would require legislation because Congress created the department. He has also argued that trimming the department would make it more efficient and increase accountability.v
