WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order to dismantle the Education Department and ordered the agency to reinstate employees who were fired in mass layoffs. The administration said it would challenge the ruling.
U.S. District Judge Myong Joun in Boston granted a preliminary injunction stopping the Trump administration from carrying out plans announced in March that sought to work toward Trump’s goal to shut down the department. It marks a setback to one of the Republican president's campaign promises.
The ruling came in two consolidated lawsuits that said Trump's plan amounted to an illegal closure of the Education Department.
One suit was filed by the Somerville and Easthampton school districts in Massachusetts along with the American Federation of Teachers and other education groups. The other suit was filed by a coalition of 21 Democratic attorneys general.
The suits argued that layoffs left the department unable to carry out responsibilities required by Congress, including duties to support special education, distribute financial aid and enforce civil rights laws.
In his order, Joun said the plaintiffs painted a “stark picture of the irreparable harm that will result from financial uncertainty and delay, impeded access to vital knowledge on which students and educators rely, and loss of essential services for America’s most vulnerable student populations.”
Layoffs of that scale, he added, “will likely cripple the Department. The idea that Defendants’ actions are merely a ‘reorganization’ is plainly not true."
Hours later, the Trump administration appealed the ruling.
“Once again, a far-left Judge has dramatically overstepped his authority, based on a complaint from biased plaintiffs, and issued an injunction against the obviously lawful efforts to make the Department of Education more efficient and functional for the American people,” spokesperson Madi Biedermann said in a statement.
Joun ordered the Education Department to reinstate federal workers who were terminated as part of the March 11 layoff announcement.
That announcement led to the firing of about 1,300 people. Some Education Department employees have left through buyout offers and the termination of probationary employees, which combined with the layoffs have reduced the staff to roughly half the 4,100 the department had when Trump took office.
“Today’s order means that the Trump administration’s disastrous mass firings of career civil servants are blocked while this wildly disruptive and unlawful agency action is litigated,” said Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, which represents plaintiffs in the Somerville case.
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, called the decision “a first step to reverse this war on knowledge and the undermining of broad-based opportunity.”
The administration has said the layoffs are aimed at efficiency, not a department shutdown. Trump has called for the closure of the agency but recognizes it must be carried out by Congress, the government said.
The administration said restructuring the agency “may impact certain services until the reorganization is finished” but it’s committed to fulfilling its statutory requirements.
The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
President Donald Trump holds a jersey as he departs after hosting the 2025 NCAA Champion, University of Florida men's basketball team in the East Room of the White House, Wednesday, May 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
BILLERICA, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 8, 2025--
Bruker Corporation (Nasdaq: BRKR) today announced that its Board of Directors has added Jack J. Phillips to serve on its board of directors, effective as of January 1 st, 2026. Mr. Phillips is a senior healthcare industry executive with over 30 years of leadership experience in the diagnostics industry.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251208901297/en/
Frank H. Laukien, chairman, president and CEO of Bruker Corporation, stated: “Bruker is delighted to add Jack to our board of directors. His broad and deep diagnostics experience, strategic acumen and market development experience will be very valuable to Bruker and our board. I admire Jack’s proven ability to translate scientific innovations into clinical impact for patient benefit and to accelerate profitable business growth in diagnostics. Jack’s addition to our board is timely, as we broaden our infectious disease diagnostics portfolio, and increasingly leverage our unique disease biology research tools for opportunities in specialty diagnostics.”
Jack Phillips served as President & CEO of Accelerate Diagnostics from 2020-2025, pioneering rapid antibiotic susceptibility testing (AST) technology for hospitals and infectious disease doctors combatting serious bacterial infections, life-threatening sepsis and antibiotic resistance.
Previously, Jack was President & CEO of Roche Diagnostics North America from 2010-2020, where he led the portfolio across clinical chemistry, immunodiagnostics, as well as molecular, tissue and point-of-care diagnostics, and digital pathology, all further strengthening Roche’s leadership position in the global in vitro diagnostics (IVD) industry.
From 1999-2010, Jack was Senior VP and General Manager, North America, for Ventana Medical Systems, helping establish tissue and companion diagnostics as standards of care. His career has centered on advancing innovation to clinical translation for patient benefit and business impact through strategy, market development and operational excellence. Jack serves on the Board of Trustees of Tucson Medical Center, and he previously was a board member of AdvaMedDx. He holds a B.S. in Marketing from Northern Kentucky University.
“It’s a great honor to join the Board of Directors at Bruker Corporation, a company with an entrepreneurial culture and a unique dedication to innovation and translation that I really admire.” said Mr. Phillips. “Throughout my career, I’ve seen diagnostics not as siloed technologies, but as a connected ecosystem that turns biological insight into clinical and economic impact, and I look forward to bringing that experience and vision to Bruker.”
About Bruker Corporation – Leader of the Post-Genomic Era
Bruker is enabling scientists and engineers to make breakthrough post-genomic discoveries and develop new applications that improve the quality of human life. Bruker’s high performance scientific instruments and high value analytical and diagnostic solutions enable scientists to explore life and materials at molecular, cellular, and microscopic levels. In close cooperation with our customers, Bruker is enabling innovation, improved productivity, and customer success in post-genomic life science molecular and cell biology research, in applied and biopharma applications, in microscopy and nanoanalysis, as well as in industrial and cleantech research, and next-gen semiconductor metrology in support of AI. Bruker offers differentiated, high value life science and diagnostics systems and solutions in preclinical imaging, clinical phenomics research, proteomics and multiomics, spatial and single-cell biology, functional structural and condensate biology, as well as in clinical microbiology and molecular diagnostics. For more information, please visit www.bruker.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Any statements contained in this press release which do not describe historical facts may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Any forward-looking statements contained herein are based on current expectations, but are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated, including, but not limited to, those risk factors discussed from time to time in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC. These and other factors are identified and described in more detail in our filings with the SEC, including, without limitation, our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, as may be updated by our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. We expressly disclaim any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements other than as required by law.
Jack Phillips
