The Supreme Court gave Trump the green light to shut down the Department of Education.

On Monday, the Supreme Court of the United States allowed the Trump administration to proceed with the dismissal of 1,400 state employees hired by the Department of Education,  a measure that the current president considers the first step toward completely shutting down this department.

In a brief decision, the justices blocked a judicial order that was issued by a lower court in May, where the judge reasoned that Trump lacked the power to transform and close this department.

The only dissenters from the ruling were the three Democratic justices who area part of the Court. Sonia Sotomayor, the justice nominated to her position in 2008 by former President Obama, was the one who expressed the most outrage at this decision, describing the ruling as "unconstitutional" and "indefensible."

The timeline of the legal dispute

On March 11, the Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon, announced in a press release the dismissal of 1,378 workers employed by her department, most of whom belonged to left leaning unions. 

Nine days later, as part of fulfilling one of his campaign promises, Trump issued an executive order instructing McMahon to take "all necessary measures" to facilitate the closure of this department.

On March 21, the president announced that two major and multi-million dollar secretaries—the one for programs for students with special needs and the one for federal student loans—that were under control of the Department of Education will be transferred to other departments.

The Democrats tried to stop this measure by forming a block. A coalition made up of 19 states led by New York, two school districts, and teachers' unions took the case to court, getting a judge from the state of Massachusetts to order the department to reinstate the dismissed employees.

The Trump administration went to the Supreme Court on June 6, asking the justices to intervene and suspend the lower court's order.

Another victory for Trump

Today, almost a month after the appeal filed by the government's legal team, the Court acted by issuing a brief order that overturned the lower court's ruling.

The recent ruling from the highest court is part of a streak of judicial victories achieved by the White House that have allowed Trump to continue with his plan for state reform.

In education, Trump has already said that he plans to honor his campaign promises; that is, that the states will be in charge of their respective educational systems and to end federal bureaucracy in education so that resources go where they matter most: students, parents, and teachers.