JUST IN: Supreme Court Smacks Down District Judge, Issues Key Victory For Trump

An ideologically divided U.S. Supreme Court on Monday paved the way for President Donald Trump to lay off hundreds of workers at the U.S. Department of Education, where he and Secretary Linda McMahon are committed to rapidly downsizing the federal agency.

The 6-3 decision saw the state’s conservative majority line up against the three liberal justices.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor, writing the dissent, said the decision effectively validates Trump’s claim that he can circumvent Congress “by firing all those necessary to carry them out.”

“The majority is either willfully blind to the implications of its ruling or naïve,” Sotomayor wrote, “but either way the threat to our Constitution’s separation of powers is great.”

“When the Executive publicly announces its intent to break the law, and then executes on that promise, it is the Judiciary’s duty to check that lawlessness, not expedite it,” she added.

The brief, unsigned order by the majority was not accompanied by an explanation, as is typical during emergency hearings.

One week earlier, the high court granted Trump its approval of his decision to fire thousands of federal workers. Monday’s ruling is an extension of that authority, and the administration has vowed to move swiftly to clean house at DOE, where it claims liberal state workers have clung to the public payroll for years.

During his campaign, President Trump vowed to eliminate the DOE, a promise fulfilled in March through an executive order instructing McMahon to “facilitate the closure of the Department of Education.” Workers at the time were placed on paid leave, which was set to stop on June 9 before the plaintiffs filed suit.

The case was brought by Democratic attorneys general, public sector unions, and school districts in Somerville and Easthampton, Massachusetts.

Targeted for removal are roughly 1,400 DOE employees who held out hope after U.S. District Judge Myong Joun in Boston issued an injunction when he concluded that the layoffs “will likely cripple the department,” the AP reported.

Attorneys with the U.S. Justice Department countered, saying the Constitution grants the executive branch, not Congress, the power to decide how many federal employees are necessary to fulfill the roles of its branches, USA Today reported.

“The Department of Education has determined that it can carry out its statutorily mandated functions with a pared-down staff and that many discretionary functions are better left to the States,” Solicitor General John Sauer told the Supreme Court.

Those removed from DOE work in areas including special education, distribute financial aid, and enforce civil rights laws, all of which the Trump administration has promised to backfill through direct financing to equivalent state programs.

The layoffs amount to about half of DOE’s workforce, reducing the agency’s headcount from 4,133 workers when Trump took office in January to 2,183 workers.

Other responsibilities of the DOE, including the management of student loans, are expected to be rolled up into the U.S. Small Business Administration. Special education services are expected to be overseen by the U.S. Health and Human Services.