A federal judge has 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.

A district judge on Thursday blocked President Trump’s executive order calling for the closure of the Department of Education — as well as against the reduction in force that laid off half of the

In his order, U.S. District Judge Myong Joun said President Donald Trump’s March 20 executive order directing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to begin the process of shutting down the agency is illegal, and it would require an act of Congress to shut down the department.

The Education Department said Thursday it is opening a civil rights investigation into Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia over the admissions policy at an elite, selective high school.

The announcement of McMahon's investigation came the day after Virginia's attorney general found Thomas Jefferson High School guilty of discriminating against Asian students.

Education Secretary Linda McMahon, testifying before a House subcommittee on Wednesday, defended a 15.3% leaner budget from last year as part of the department's "final mission."

At a congressional hearing, Education Secretary Linda McMahon assured lawmakers that, though the size of the office is being reduced, discrimination cases are still being investigated