Trump administration asks Supreme Court to leave mass layoffs at Education Department in place

FILE - The Supreme Court is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File) The Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- The Trump administration on Friday asked the Supreme Court to pause a court order to reinstate Education Department employees who were fired in mass layoffs as part of President Donald Trump’s plan to dismantle the agency.

The Justice Department’s emergency appeal to the high court said U.S. District Judge Myong Joun in Boston exceeded his authority last month when he issued a preliminary injunction reversing the layoffs of nearly 1,400 people and putting the broader plan on hold.

Joun’s order has blocked one of Trump’s biggest campaign promises and effectively stalled the effort to wind down the department. A federal appeals co