Well, well, well. If it is not another day ending in “y,” and yet another Trump initiative getting slapped down by the judiciary like a rogue student caught cheating on a civics exam. In a development that surprised absolutely no one with a basic grasp of the Constitution—or a moral compass—a federal judge in Boston issued a preliminary injunction halting former President Donald Trump’s latest fever-dream decree: the dismantling of the Department of Education.

Yes, you read that right. Trump, in his infinite wisdom and consistent disdain for institutions that do not revolve around his image or a gold-plated toilet, attempted to eliminate an entire federal department. Not restructure. Not reduce. Abolish. As in: let go of 1,300 staffers, erase functions like financial aid, civil rights enforcement, and special education support, and call it “efficiency.”

Judge Myong Joun, however, is not having it.

In a blistering and beautifully crafted ruling, the judge made clear that this was not some bureaucratic shuffle. No, this was a hatchet job, a mass firing disguised as reform, and it left the Department of Education gutted like a piñata at a lobbyist-funded party. The judge rightfully called it what it is: illegal, disruptive, and dangerous.

Let us pause and take a moment to appreciate the phrase “irreparable harm.” Because what Trump attempted to do would not just harm the department—it would cripple it, the judge wrote. Not “temporarily disorient,” not “inconvenience,” but cripple. You know, like slashing the tires on a school bus and calling it “vehicular innovation.”

The administration’s response? Well, of course they did not apologize, backtrack, or consider the consequences of their actions. Instead, they doubled down with the grace and insight of a hungry toddler denied his fourth scoop of ice cream. Trump’s spokesperson Madi Biedermann accused Judge Joun of being a “far-left judge” who “dramatically overstepped his authority.”

Ah yes, the classic Trump playbook: if the court rules against you, call it rigged. If the judge is not white, male, and personally endorsed by you, call them biased. And if your administration suffers the consequences of governing by tantrum, scream “Deep State!” into the void.

Let us be clear: this is not the first time the judiciary has had to act like the last adult in the room. From travel bans to family separations, from emoluments to executive orders scribbled in Sharpie, the courts have been forced time and again to remind Donald J. Trump that Article II does not mean “I can do whatever I want.” Remember when he tried to block TikTok and courts laughed him out of the data center? Or the time he declared a national emergency to fund his border wall and the courts responded with a constitutional eyebrow raise? This latest ruling fits comfortably on a very long, very grim shelf of legal smacks.

And let us not forget that this attempted DOE takedown was not just about shrinking government. It was ideological warfare dressed up as efficiency. A thinly veiled crusade against public education, an attack on inclusivity, and a retribution plot against civil servants. After all, what better way to advance an anti-intellectual agenda than to defund and dismantle the very agency tasked with ensuring Americans can read, think, and analyze propaganda when they see it?

Under Trump’s directive, the DOE was not just set to be gutted—it was already being weaponized. With Education Secretary Linda McMahon at the helm (because nothing screams “education reform” like a former WWE executive), the department had already joined forces with the Department of Justice to target transgender students. Their crime? Existing. Participating. Trying to belong. And somehow this was the administration claiming to uphold fairness and function?

Thankfully, plaintiffs like the American Federation of Teachers, school districts from Somerville and Easthampton, and a coalition of Democratic attorneys general stood up and said: not today. They painted a vivid, data-backed picture of what dismantling the DOE would mean. Financial aid left in limbo. Special education programs left leaderless. Civil rights complaints uninvestigated. Vulnerable students left adrift in a sea of red tape and administrative negligence.

Let us be real—America’s public education system has never been perfect. But what it needs is investment, not incineration. What it deserves is leadership, not layoffs. And what it owes to its students is support, not a game of ideological Russian roulette orchestrated by a twice-impeached, thrice-indicted chaos goblin who still believes that higher education is a liberal conspiracy.

So yes, this ruling is a victory. A loud, unambiguous message from the judiciary that decency, legality, and service still matter. Judge Joun did not “overstep.” He stepped up. He upheld the rule of law when the executive branch tried to bulldoze it with a wrecking ball labeled “executive order.” He protected the civil servants who keep the lights on in agencies Trump barely understands. And he gave America’s students and teachers—especially the most vulnerable among them—a fighting chance.

To the former president’s team: maybe try governing next time instead of grifting.

To the rest of us: stay vigilant. Because if history is any guide, this will not be Trump’s last failed attempt to burn the house down and blame the fire marshal. But at least, for today, one federal judge reminded him that even kings must follow the law—especially those who were never crowned.