Judge blocks Trump’s orders to dismantle the Education Department and fire employees

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...