Judge Myong J. Joun Blocks President Trump From Gutting US Department of Education
By Romen Basu Borsellino | 23 May, 2025

In his Thursday ruling, the Korean-born judge demanded that Administration pause it's destructive efforts and reinstate roughly 1,300 employees who have been let go.

On Thursday, US District Judge Myong Jin Joun issued his second major ruling against the Trump Administration in just two months and blocked its attempts to effectively eliminate the US Department of Education. 

Judge Joun, who was born in Seoul, South Korea, became the first Asian American man to serve on the federal bench in Massachusetts when he was appointed by President Biden and subsequently confirmed in 2023.

This case centers on President Trump’s attempt to gut the United States Department of Education. In March, the President issued an executive order instructing US Secretary of Education Linda McMcahon to take the necessary steps to close the Department and begin a mass firing of employees. But the US Constitution does not grant a President the power to unilaterally shut down a Congressionally-approved Agency. 

Therefore, the question at hand in this case is whether or not the Administration’s actions over the past two months equate to shutting down the Department, even though they claim that they are simply making it more efficient. Judge Joun says that they do. 

In his ruling, the Judge stated that “The record abundantly reveals that defendants’ true intention is to effectively dismantle the department without an authorizing statute” and that "a department without enough employees to perform statutorily mandated functions is not a department at all.” The Trump Administration, the Judge ruled, must not only pause it’s efforts to dismantle the agency but “reinstate the status quo” by re-hiring roughly 1,300 employees who have been let go.

The Trump Administration predictably attacked Joun personally, stating that “a far-left Judge has dramatically overstepped his authority.”

But if the past is prologue, the Trump Administration may ultimately get the final say. In March Judge Joun blocked the Trump Administration from freezing $65 million in teacher spending grants which the Administration alleged were being used to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. 

In issuing a temporary restraining order against the Administration’s actions, Judge Joun argued that “dozens of programs upon which public schools, public universities, students, teachers and faculty rely will be gutted.” The Trump Administration appealed his ruling by taking their case to the The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Boston, which upheld Judge Joun’s decision. 

That’s when the conservative leaning US Supreme Court stepped in. In a 5-4 ruling, the court overturned Judge Joun’s and the Appeals Court’s rulings and allowed the Trump Administration to freeze the funds. 

Of course this case is separate from the last one, but that outcome underscores how District Court rulings may ultimately be overturned by a right-leaning Supreme Court that has appeared reluctant to invalidate some of the Trump Administration's arguably unconstitutional acts.