WASHINGTON – On Thursday, a federal judge halted President Donald Trump’s executive order intended to close the Education Department, also requiring the agency to rehire employees affected by mass layoffs.

U.S. District Judge Myong Joun in Boston issued a preliminary injunction preventing the Trump administration from implementing two initiatives revealed in March aimed at achieving Trump’s objective of dismantling the department. This represents a challenge to one of the Republican president’s campaign commitments.

The injunction came in response to a lawsuit initiated by the Somerville and Easthampton school districts in Massachusetts, the American Federation of Teachers, along with other educational organizations.

In their lawsuit, the groups said the layoffs amounted to an illegal shutdown of the Education Department. They said it left the department unable to carry out responsibilities required by Congress, including duties to support special education, distribute financial aid and enforce civil rights laws.

In his order, Joun said the plaintiffs painted a “stark picture of the irreparable harm that will result from financial uncertainty and delay, impeded access to vital knowledge on which students and educators rely, and loss of essential services for America’s most vulnerable student populations.”

Layoffs of that scale, he added, “will likely cripple the Department.”

Joun ordered the Education Department to reinstate federal workers who were terminated as part of the March 11 layoff announcement.

The Trump administration says the layoffs are aimed at efficiency, not a department shutdown. Trump has called for the closure of the agency but recognizes it must be carried out by Congress, the government said.

The administration said restructuring the agency “may impact certain services until the reorganization is finished” but it’s committed to fulfilling its statutory requirements.

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