WASHINGTON, 15 JULY

The Supreme Court is allowing President Donald Trump to put his plan to dismantle the Education Department back on track — and to go through with laying off nearly 1,400 employees.

With the three liberal justices in dissent, the court on Monday paused an order from US District Judge Myong Joun in Boston, who issued a preliminary injunction reversing the layoffs and calling into question the broader plan. The layoffs "will likely cripple the department," Joun wrote. A federal appeals court refused to put the order on hold while the administration appealed.

The high court action enables the administration to resume work on winding down the department, one of Trump's biggest campaign promises.

In a post Monday night on his social media platform, Trump said the high court "has handed a Major Victory to Parents and Students across the Country". He said the decision will allow his administration to begin the "very important process" of returning many of the department's functions "BACK TO THE STATES".

The court did not explain its decision in favour of Trump, as is customary in emergency appeals. But in dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor complained that her colleagues were enabling legally questionable action on the part of the administration.

"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," Sotomayor wrote for herself and Justices Ketanji Brown Jackson and Elena Kagan.

Education Secretary Linda McMahon said it's a "shame" it took the Supreme Court's intervention to let Trump's plan move ahead.

The Supreme Court has handed Trump one victory after another in his effort to remake the federal government, after lower courts have found the administration's actions probably violate federal law. Last week, the justices cleared the way for Trump's plan to significantly reduce the size of the federal workforce. On the education front, the high court has previously allowed cuts in teacher-training grants to go forward.