Pelosi Blasts Supreme Court Decision Enabling Mass Layoffs at Education Department: "A Grave Blow to the Rule of Law."
Washington, D.C. – Today on the House Floor, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi denounced the Supreme Court’s recent decision permitting the President to move forward with mass layoffs at the Department of Education. In her remarks, Pelosi described the ruling as a grave blow to the rule of law and a dangerous expansion of executive authority that undermines Congress’s constitutional power of the purse.
Pointing to the broader consequences of gutting education investments, Pelosi warned that these cuts serve the wealthiest Americans at the expense of the nation’s future.
Watch her full remarks here.
Read the transcript of Speaker Emerita Pelosi's Floor remarks below:
Speaker Emerita Pelosi. Mr. Speaker, the Supreme Court's ridiculous decision this week to allow the President to proceed with mass layoffs at the Department of Education is a grave blow to the rule of law and defies Congressional authority.
Justice Sotomayor's dissent warns that the Court is ‘enabling the executive branch to undermine Congress's power of the purse.’ And she is absolutely right.
Perhaps the Republicans in the House, the Senate and the White House do not understand that nothing brings more money to the U.S. Treasury than the education of the American people.
Early childhood education, K-through-12, higher education, post-grad and lifetime learning for our workers.
They're cutting education to give tax breaks to the richest people at the expense of America's future—the education of the American people.
The Court's disregard for the authority of the legislative branch empowers executive overreach at the expense of accountability and democracy.
My colleagues, take pride in being a Member of the House. Support this institution and our constitutional right with the power of the purse.
I yield back.