In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) on April 4 gave President Donald Trump’s second-term team what should have been a much easier win, allowing Trump to freeze millions in US Department of Education grants handed to state universities and non-profits for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) teaching programs.
As Amy Howe reports for SCOTUSBlog, in the case called “Department of Education et al v. California et al,” the court blocked a lower court ruling that attempted to resurrect the funds.
“At issue in the case are two grant programs intended to address a nationwide shortage of teachers. The Department of Education canceled all but five of the 109 grants after reviews found ‘objectionable’ diversity and equity training material in the recipient programs.
Eight states, led by California, filed a lawsuit in federal court in Massachusetts in early March. They contended that universities and nonprofits in their states had received grants through the programs, and that the Department of Education had violated the federal law governing administrative agencies when it ended those grants.”
Which might inspire some Americans to scratch their heads at seeing eight state governments (California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, New York, and Wisconsin) trying to cite “federal law” over “administrative agencies” and education funds, when the states and the federal laws are supposed to conform to the US Constitution – and the US Constitution does not allow for a federal “education-funding administrative agency” or for any federal funds to be spent on education.
Howe outlines how the absurd case got to the SCOTUS, noting that, shortly after Mr. Trump started his second term:
“A federal district judge issued a temporary order that required the government to reinstate the grants that it had terminated in the states bringing the lawsuit. U.S. District Judge Myong Joun also prohibited the government from implementing other terminations in those states.”
That didn’t sit well with the Trump Administration, so Trump’s Acting Solicitor General brought that to the First Circuit Court of Appeals, and:
“The United States Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit declined to put the district court’s order on hold while the government appealed, but it fast-tracked the appeal itself.
The Trump administration came to the Supreme Court on March 24, asking the justices to step in. Acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris asserted that unless the justices intervened, federal courts around the country will continue to exceed their powers ‘by ordering the Executive Branch to restore lawfully terminated grants across the government, keep paying for programs that the Executive Branch views as inconsistent with the interests of the United States, and send out the door taxpayer money that may never be clawed back.’ Harris appealed to the justices to ‘put a swift end to federal district courts’ unconstitutional reign as self-appointed managers of Executive Branch funding and grant-disbursement decisions.’”
Which, again, might inspire some smirks of incredulity due to the absurdity of either side arguing about the separation of powers and “lawfully terminated grants” when the laws are supposed to conform to the US Constitution, and that Constitution doesn’t allow for the grants in the first place.
As Ms. Howe notes:
“The vote was 5-4, with Chief Justice John Roberts indicating that he would have denied the government’s request. Justice Elena Kagan dissented, calling the court’s ruling a ‘mistake.’ Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, in an opinion joined by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, also dissented, writing that it was ‘beyond puzzling that a majority of the Justices conceive of the Government’s application as an emergency.’”
But this isn’t really about the “application” being an “emergency” or not being such.
It is about the fundamental rule book of the Constitution and it is about public funding for indoctrination, causing taxpayers to argue over DEI claptrap.
As Sam Dorman writes for NTD, Trump’s administration moved to stop $65 million in outstanding payments—your money, funneled through a federal pipeline to push agendas many Americans reject, but some Americans do not reject, and it is this immoral, unconstitutional, forced collectivization that causes so many problems on a practical level.
As I’ve noted before for MRCTV, the U.S. Department of Education is a constitutional phantom, a bureaucratic leviathan with no legitimate footing. It has been siphoning tax dollars to meddle in classrooms since Jimmy Carter signed it into law in 1979, and every penny it spends is a slap in the face of federalism.
Related: Biden Shifts More College Student Loan Debt Onto Other Taxpayers
There is no enumerated power granting Congress or the executive branch dominion over education. The DoE’s existence is a power grab, plain and simple, and its grant programs are just the latest symptom of that corruptive power. Trump’s claimed push to dismantle it, kicked off with his March 20 executive order, is a nod in the right direction, but it’s a half-measure. Executive actions can be reversed; Congress needs to bury this beast for good.
Without the Justices acknowledging the lack of constitutional authority, and without a complete death blow delivered from Trump and Congress to bring a true end the Department of Education, the Supreme Court’s ruling is a fleeting victory.
Federal education funding isn’t just wasteful—it’s theft, a violation of your rights and the Constitution’s limits. Shutter the DoE, end the grants, and give power back to parents and communities. Until then, we’re just bailing water from a sinking ship while the band plays on. Whether the tune is promoting “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” is not really relevant.
True diversity comes with liberty; government enslaves.
Follow MRCTV on X!
A fundraiser for the 17-year-old murder suspect accused of stabbing a high school football star to death during a track meet raises more than $170,000.https://t.co/Y3ndHKH2LP
— MRCTV (@mrctv) April 8, 2025