Can President Trump unilaterally lay off 1,400 Department of Education employees?

In this episode, Derek Black of the University of South Carolina School of Law and Neal McCluskey of the Cato Institute join to discuss this recent emergency docket decision and explore the history of federal involvement in education.     Resources  McMahon v. New York (2025) Scott Harris with Derek Black, “Trump’s Targeting of Education Department Could Eliminate Dozens of Federal Programs for Millions of Students Nationwide,” Counterpoint (Feb. 10, 2025) Derek Black, “Dangerous Learning: The South’s Long War on Black Literacy,” (2025) Neal McCluskey, “Right Supreme Court Call on Downsizing the US Department of Education,” Cato at Liberty (July 14, 2025) Neal McCluskey, Feds in the Classroom: How Big Government Corrupts, Cripples, and Compromises American Education, (2007) Stay Connected and Learn More Questions or comments about the show? Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[e-mail]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Continue the conversation by following us on social media @ConstitutionCtr. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sign up⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate. Follow, rate, and review wherever you listen. Join us for an upcoming ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠live program⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or watch recordings on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Support our important work. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Donate