Trump pushes to dismantle Education Department, seeks Supreme Court backing
Donald Trump's administration asked the US Supreme Court on Friday to permit it to proceed with dismantling the Department of Education, a move that would leave school policy in the United States almost entirely in the hands of states and local boards.The Justice Department asked the court to halt Boston-based US District Judge Myong Joun's May 22 ruling that ordered the administration reinstate employees terminated in a mass layoff and end further actions to shutter the department.advertisementThe department, created by a US law passed by Congress in 1979, oversees about 100,000 public and 34,000 private schools in the United States, though more than 85 per cent of public school funding comes from state and local governments.
It provides federal grants for needy schools and programs, including money to pay teachers of children with special needs, fund arts programs and replace outdated infrastructure. It also oversees the USD 1.6 trillion in student loans held by tens of millions of Americans who cannot afford to pay for college outright.Trump's move to dismantle the department is part of the Republican president's campaign to downsize and reshape the federal government. Closing the department long has been a goal of many US conservatives.Attorneys general from 20 states and the District of Columbia, as well as school districts and unions representing teachers, sued to block the Trump administration's efforts to gut the department. The states argued that the massive job cuts will render the agency unable to perform core functions authorized by statute, including in the civil rights arena, effectively usurping Congress's authority in violation of the US Constitution.advertisementTrump on March 20 signed an executive order intended to effectively shut down the department, making good on a longstanding campaign promise to conservatives to move education policy almost completely to states and local boards. At a White House ceremony surrounded by children and educators, Trump called the order a first step "to eliminate" the department.Secretary of Education Linda McMahon announced plans on March 11 to carry out a mass termination of employees. Those layoffs would leave the department with 2,183 workers, down from 4,133 when Trump took office in January. The department said in a press release those terminations were part of its "final mission."Trump on March 21 announced plans to transfer the department's student loan portfolio to the Small Business Administration and its special education, nutrition and related services to the US Department of Health and Human Services, which also is facing deep job cuts.Joun in his ruling ordered the administration to reinstate the laid off workers and halt implementation of Trump's directive to transfer student loans and special needs programs to other federal agencies.The judge rejected the argument put forth by Justice Department lawyers that the mass terminations were aimed at making the department more efficient while fulfilling its mission. In fact, Joun ruled, the job cuts were an effort to shut down the department without the necessary approval of Congress.advertisement"This court cannot be asked to cover its eyes while the department's employees are continuously fired and units are transferred out until the department becomes a shell of itself," the judge wrote.White House spokesperson Harrison Fields called the judge's ruling "misguided."Tune InTrending Reel
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Hindustan Times
22 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Elon Musk and Donald Trump's feud goes public: Timeline of their tumultuous partnership
President Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk's relationship seems to have taken a downward spiral in the past few days. The pair that once grabbed every opportunity to praise each other's work have now resorted to engaging in frequent social media spats due to a difference of opinion over Trump's new 'Big, Beautiful Bill'. The confrontation reached a peak on Thursday (June 5), after Musk's exit from the Department of Government Efficiency (DoGE). Considering the events of the past year, it may be hard to believe that Musk hasn't always been Trump's biggest fan. During Trump's first run for presidency back in 2016, Musk openly expressed his support for Democrat candidate Hillary Clinton in an interview with CNBC, labeling her environmental and economic policies 'the right ones'. "I feel a bit stronger that he is not the right guy. He doesn't seem to have the sort of character that reflects well on the United States,' Musk said of Trump at the time. Once Trump beat Clinton in the 2016 race to the White House, Musk retained ties with the federal government due to the close contractual interaction between NASA and his company SpaceX. He was also a part of several White House advisory boards such as Trump's Manufacturing Jobs Council. However, when Trump decided to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accords in 2017, Musk publicly voiced his disapproval of the decision by tweeting, 'Climate change is real. Leaving Paris is not good for America or the world.' Trump, however, felt differently and publicaly called Musk a 'great guy' during a 2020 SpaceX launch in Florida. It was in May 2022, that Musk decided to switch his allegiance from blue to red and publically declared his support of the Republican Party, calling the Democrats a 'party of division & hate'. Even though Musk decided to rally behind the GOP, it didn't automatically ensure his support for Trump as the right man for the job. He instead supported Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a long-time rival of Trump, and even joined a Twitter livestream in May 2023 to support his campaign for the presidency. Despite a social media feud with Trump in 2022, Musk took the call to reinstate Trump's Twitter account after buying the company in October of that year. His account had previously been suspended from the platform following the US Capitol attack on January 6, 2021. This move came four days after Trump announced his third run for the presidency. It was after an assassination attempt during his election rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13, that Musk first announced public support for Trump's presidency via a social media post. Trump and Musk came together on an X livestream to share their views on various political topics during which the Tesla CEO expressed a willingness to serve in government by posting a picture of him as a representative of a new department: DoGE. Musk reportedly became the largest spender in the 2024 presidential election by contributing about a quarter of a billion dollars for several Republicans' campaigns, specifically that of Trump. He was then spotted standing next to the presidential candidate in an October rally back at the Pennsylvania location of Trump's failed assassination attempt while wearing a 'Make America Great Again' cap and calling him the only candidate 'to preserve democracy in America'. One of Trump's first moves after returning to the White House was to pass an executive order that materialized DoGE into reality. Musk and former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy were now tasked with identifying and cutting down on wasteful spending and frauds in the bureaucracy. The President also attended a SpaceX 'Starship' launch in Texas during this time to express his support for Musk. January 2025 Trump gave Musk a special shoutout during his election night victory speech by calling him an 'amazing guy' and saying, 'A star is born.' As head of the DoGE, Musk took active measures to cut costs but failed to meet his target of saving up to $1 trillion during his time in office which would have helped cut down on the $36 trillion US debt and possibly circulate stimulus checks among the American population. He was soon included in the President's inner circle as a trusted advisor and regularly attended cabinet meetings or traveled aboard Air Force One. When Trump opponents protested against Musk's company, the President rolled onto the White House's South Lawn in a red Tesla to publically announce support for the car and his friend. He took to social media to applaud Musk for doing a 'FANTASTIC JOB' and said that he would buy a brand new Tesla the very next day. 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Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Maharashtra polls were match-fixed, Bihar next: Rahul Gandhi
NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday hit out at the Election Commission after the poll watchdog rejected his allegations of rigging in the 2024 Maharashtra assembly election. Reacting to the EC's refutation attributed to the commission officials who spoke on anonymity, Gandhi said, "Evasion won't protect your credibility. Telling the truth will". Also read: 'LOP's desperation over Congress losses on display,' says BJP Sharing his op-ed published in 'The Indian Express', headlined "Match-fixing Maharashtra", on X, Rahul reiterated the allegations he has been making since the poll's result was announced. The 2024 Maharashtra assembly election was a "blueprint for rigging democracy", he said, alleging that this "match-fixing" would next happen in Bihar and "then anywhere BJP is losing". If you have nothing to hide, answer questions in my article and prove it by: publishing consolidated, digital, machine-readable voter rolls for the most recent elections to LS and Vidhan Sabhas of all states Rahul told EC On EC officials rejecting his claims, Rahul said, "Dear EC, you are a constitutional body. Releasing unsigned, evasive notes to intermediaries is not the way to respond to serious questions." "If you have nothing to hide, answer the questions in my article and prove it by: Publishing consolidated, digital, machine-readable voter rolls for the most recent elections to the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabhas of all states including Maharashtra and by releasing all post-5 pm CCTV footage from Maharashtra polling booths," he demanded. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Dad-Approved Ways to Celebrate Father's Day in Costa Mesa - Travel Costa Mesa Travel Costa Mesa Read More Undo Rahul further said, "My article shows how this happened, step by step: Step 1: Rig the panel for appointing the Election Commission. Step 2: Add fake voters to the roll. Step 3: Inflate voter turnout. Step 4: Target the bogus voting exactly where BJP needs to win. Step 5: Hide the evidence." He said, "It's not hard to see why BJP was so desperate in Maharashtra. But rigging is like match-fixing - the side that cheats might win the game, but damages institutions and destroys public faith in the result."
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
LOP's desperation over Congress losses on display: BJP
NEW DELHI: Top BJP functionaries including party president J P Nadda and Dharmendra Pradhan on Saturday reacted vehemently to Congress member Rahul Gandhi's latest claim questioning the Maharashtra assembly polls, saying that the leader of opposition in Lok Sabha was reflecting his desperation after his party's losses and the looming one in Bihar assembly polls. "Rahul Gandhi's latest article is a blueprint for manufacturing fake narratives, owing to his sadness and desperation of losing election after election," said Nadda in response to Gandhi's article which appeared in a national daily on Saturday. Citing factors that "doomed" Congress in recent polls, Nadda said Congress gets defeated election after election due to his (Rahul Gandhi's) antics. "Instead of introspecting, he cooks up bizarre conspiracies and cries rigging. Ignores all facts and data. Defames institutions with zero proof and hopes for headlines over facts," the BJP president said in a post on X. Nadda said despite being exposed time and again, Rahul shamelessly keeps peddling lies. "And, he is doing this because a defeat in Bihar is certain," he said adding that democracy doesn't need drama but truth. Pradhan said Rahul Gandhi's post on Maharashtra elections is nothing more than a predictable script-lose elections, discredit institutions, fabricate conspiracies, and portray himself as a victim of an imaginary system. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 신차장기렌트 첫달 렌트료 전액지원해드립니다. 신차장기렌트센터 더 알아보기 Undo "But India's democracy is far stronger than the insecurities of a dynast who refuses to accept repeated electoral verdicts," Pradhan, a prominent OBC face of BJP, said. He said it there's any rigging Rahul should be worried about, it's the kind his own party mastered for decades-from Emergency to misusing Article 356 over 90 times to dismiss opposition govts. "Let's not forget, this is the same Rahul Gandhi who falsely claimed in Cambridge that Indian democracy is 'dead', yet participates in elections, campaigns freely, and blames EVMs only when he loses," the senior BJP functionary said.
