Trump admin just lost three major education court battles
ALSO INSIDE: How enforcing criminal contempt against Trump plays out
Cam here 👋 bringing you your daily dose of what people are doing – good, bad, and otherwise – in the world of politics. We’re diving into the stories you won’t see anywhere else. And remember, you can also keep up with me over on TikTok and Bluesky.
What Happened
When Trump is dished out losses, he often turns to the one tool in his belt where he feels he has power: tariffs. More specifically, getting the whole world to panic about what he might do with tariffs.
Early Friday morning, Trump threatened more tariffs, this time against India, as a way to punish Apple for manufacturing devices there—and the entire European Union. No specifics were offered, no plans, just two grammatically-challenged social media posts that most major news outlets are spending a large amount of time reporting on as strategic economic recommendations.
They’re not recommendations, though. All Trump posted was 187 words that offer little substance and no strategy. What he’s been silent on, however, is the three major court losses he’s been handed in less than 24 hours.
The Trump administration’s attacks on education have been stopped in their tracks on three fronts: his executive order to shut down the US Department of Education has been paused (more on that below), the US Supreme Court blocked an attempt to use public funds to subsidize a private religious school, and another judge stopped the federal government’s attempt to stop Harvard from enrolling international students.
This trio of rulings creates a serious problem for Trump, who has sought to exert power and authority he doesn’t have to control higher education and privatize the country’s public school system.
Attempts to Sanewash
Far-Right Spin
Obama Judge BLOCKS Trump Administration from Stripping Harvard’s Ability to Enroll Foreign Students
Disappointment: Rare SCOTUS Tie Sinks Religious Charter School in Oklahoma
Biden-Appointed Judge Blocks Trump’s Bid To Shut Off Lights At Ed Dep’t
Firing all these people… is actually illegal
Since Trump has stacked his cabinet with appointees who pledge to serve him, not the American people, he’s been able to fire over 100,000 government employees.
And if it wasn’t for the people taking a stand, he would have gotten away with it.
The latest blockade in the Trump administration’s attempt to dismantle the federal government is at the US Department of Education, where a judge ordered former wrestling executive and alleged sexual abuse enabler Linda McMahon to reinstate the 1,300 education workers she fired in March. The judge determined that McMahon, in her eagerness to carry out Trump’s executive order to dismantle the Department of Education, failed to retain enough employees for the agency to fulfill the tasks it is legally required to do.
“A department without enough employees to perform statutorily mandated functions is not a department at all,” Judge Myong Joun wrote in the order. “This court cannot be asked to cover its eyes while the Department’s employees are continuously fired and units are transferred out until the Department becomes a shell of itself.”
The hollowing out of the Education Department would have been allowed to happen, however, had a public school district in New Jersey, labor unions, and Democratic attorneys general in 20 states not stood up and done something. Since legislation has been passed requiring the Department of Education to fulfill certain tasks, only legislation—not an order from the executive branch—can relieve it of its legal obligations.
And, since destroying the Department of Education is incredibly unpopular, legislation is unlikely, and the lawsuits against Trump’s order could be what saves it in the end.
Idaho US Sen. Mike Crapo
Since taking office in 1999, Sen. Crapo has:
Seen his net worth increase from $1.4 million to $3.5 million
Sponsored 601 bills
Authored 10 bills that have been signed into law
Had his license suspended for a year in 2013 for drunk driving
Initially said January 6 rioters should be “prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” but later supported their pardons and called them “political prisoners”
Hasn’t held a public town hall since 2022, but does host private, Republican-only forums regularly
Fun Facts
Sen. Crapo has established himself in Congress as a leader in fiscal policy and, in 2025, was made the chair of the powerful Finance Committee. His use of campaign funds, however, paints a much more financially irresponsible picture.
While Crapo raises an impressive amount of money for a Republican Senator in a red state, his stewardship over his supporters’ money is lackluster at best. His campaign almost never files its finance reports accurately or on time, resulting in some serious accounting mishaps. In 2008, for example, Crapo was completely oblivious that a staffer took out a $250,000 loan that was never paid back.
Political action committees (PACs) bankrolling Crapo aren’t much better. An ethics complaint was lodged against Crapo for his Freedom Fund PAC’s use of campaign funds. At the time, his wife had received about $200,000 in campaign funds. She would receive smaller amounts before an election, presumably so as not to raise any suspicion, then lump sums shortly after the results were in.
Despite this, Crapo has been given one of the most coveted chair seats in the Senate, and has already used it to aid Trump in his quest to cripple the US economy. In late February, he killed Democratic Sen. Chris Coons’ STABLE Trade Policy Act, which would have required Congress to sign off on any tariffs.
Will Trump enforce a court order against himself?
The judicial stakes keep ratcheting up—Trump’s team still hasn’t facilitated Kilmer Abrego’s return, as they’ve been ordered to do, and now judges are ruling that other people illegally abducted and sent out of the country must be returned as well.
So what if they just… don’t?
Congressional Republicans are using the federal budget to limit courts’ ability to hold government officials in contempt, essentially giving the Trump administration carte blanche to ignore any court order they’d like. On the flip side, Democratic US Sen. Cory Booker has introduced a bill to move the US Marshals Service under the judicial branch. Right now, Marshals operate under the US Justice Department, which has a rule that they carry out judges’ orders, but it’s hard to see a world where Trump loyalist Pam Bondi allows contempt charges to be enforced against anyone on Team Trump.
Check out the video below for a brief breakdown of how criminal contempt charges would play out under current laws.
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