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."

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.

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.

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 at the agency that laid

“The record abundantly reveals that Defendants’ true intention is to effectively dismantle the Department without an authorizing statute,” U.S. District Judge Myong Joun wrote, noting “the Department cannot be shut down without Congress’s approval.”

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.

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