The Supreme Court ruled on Monday that the Trump administration may fire more than half of the Department of Education’s workforce — mass terminations that, in Education Secretary Linda McMahon’s words, are “the first step on the road to a total shutdown” of the entire department.

The Court’s decision in McMahon v. New York, was handed down on the Court’s “shadow docket,” a mix of emergency motions and other expedited matters that the justices often decide without full briefing or oral argument. As is often the case in shadow docket decisions, none of the Republican justices explained their decision. Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote a dissent, which was joined by both of her fellow Democratic justices.

Technically, the Court’s decision in McMahon is temporary — it permits the Trump administration to fire most of the Education Department’s workers while this lawsuit is still pending in federal court. But it is far from clear how the Education Department could unwind a decision to fire more than half of its over 4,000 employees.

The McMahon decision is particularly unnerving because it suggests that President Donald Trump is allowed to “impound” federal spending — unilaterally refusing to spend money or to continue federal programs that are mandated by an act of Congress. While McMahon does not explicitly authorize impoundment, it allows the Trump administration to fire so many federal workers, in so many key roles, that the practical effect is to cancel entire federal programs.

Impoundment is unconstitutional, and even some of the Court’s Republicans have previously said as much.

As Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote in a 2013 opinion when he was still a lower court judge, “even the President does not have unilateral authority to refuse to spend the funds. Instead, the President must propose the rescission of funds, and Congress then may decide whether to approve a rescission bill.”

If the president had the power to impound funds, he could effectively cancel any federal law by cutting........

© Vox