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SCOTUS Backs Trump’s Bid to Dismantle the Education Department

July 20, 2025

Key Takeaway

In a shadow-docket order, SCOTUS’s conservative majority let Trump shred the Education Department without Congress’s 90-day notice.

Reconstruction–era nativism shaped the 14th Amendment’s “subject to the jurisdiction” clause, likely excluding children of illegal immigrants.

Lawmakers and activists urge repeal of the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United ruling to curb unlimited corporate spending.

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Supreme Court Enables Trump’s Dismantling of Education Department

Supreme Court Backs Trump’s Education Shake-Up

In a contentious shadow-docket decision, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority cleared the way for President Trump to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education without following the 90-day notice requirements spelled out in a 1979 statute. Secretary Linda McMahon has already cut the agency’s workforce in half and locked out hundreds of employees, marking the first steps toward a full shutdown.

The ruling also upheld the administration’s freeze on $7 billion in school funding—an action critics say flouts the Impoundment Control Act of 1974. Dissenting justices warned that this unprecedented grant of unilateral executive power poses a “grave threat” to the Constitution’s separation of powers.

Nativist Roots of 14th Amendment Drive Supreme Court Birthright Citizenship Debate

Supreme Court lifts injunctions

In a terse order last week, the Supreme Court cleared three lower-court blocks on President Trump’s executive action ending birthright citizenship for children born to unlawful immigrants, while postponing a ruling on whether the 14th Amendment itself guarantees citizenship to everyone born on U.S. soil.

Historical context matters

Ratified in 1868 after the Civil War, the 14th Amendment extended citizenship to “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, subject to the jurisdiction thereof.” Reconstruction-era Republicans—many with nativist instincts—devised that clause to exclude children of non-naturalized aliens and Native Americans under tribal laws. That original intent now stands at the center of the Court’s pending decision on the scope of birthright citizenship.

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Growing Calls to Overturn Citizens United to Rein in Big Money

Since the 2010 Citizens United ruling, critics argue that unfettered corporate spending has flooded U.S. elections and distorted democratic representation. A narrow 5–4 decision that recognized corporations as ‘persons’ entitled to unlimited political contributions paved the way for Super PACs and record-breaking campaign expenditures.

Now, a diverse coalition of legal scholars, policymakers and grassroots activists is pressing Congress and the Supreme Court to reverse or override the decision. Proposed remedies include a constitutional amendment, new federal statutes banning corporate contributions, and limits on Supreme Court terms to protect democracy from excessive money and entrenched power.

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