Donald Trump’s administration on Monday requested the US Supreme Court to halt a judicial order that is currently blocking extensive job cuts and agency restructuring. This appeal is part of the Republican president’s broader initiative to downsize and reconfigure the federal government, as reported by Reuters.
The Justice Department’s appeal followed a May 22 ruling by San Francisco-based US District Judge Susan Illston, who sided with a coalition of unions, non-profit organizations, and local governments challenging the administration. Her ruling effectively blocked large-scale federal layoffs, commonly referred to as “reductions in force.”
The case directly impacts several key federal entities, including the US Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Health and Human Services, State, Treasury, and Veterans Affairs.
In its filing, the Justice Department asserted that controlling the personnel of federal agencies “lies at the heartland” of the president’s executive branch authority.
“The Constitution does not erect a presumption against presidential control of agency staffing, and the president does not need special permission from Congress to exercise core Article II powers,” the filing stated, referencing the constitutional section that delineates presidential authority.
The Supreme Court has set a deadline of June 9 for the plaintiffs in the case to respond to the administration’s filing.
Trump had issued a directive in February instructing federal agencies to “promptly undertake preparations to initiate large-scale reductions in force” as part of his administration’s restructuring plans.
In her ruling, Judge Illston concluded that Trump had exceeded his executive authority by ordering these extensive downsizings.
“As history demonstrates, the president may broadly restructure federal agencies only when authorized by Congress,” Illston wrote.
On May 9, Illston had initially issued a temporary injunction, preventing approximately 20 agencies from enacting mass layoffs for a two-week period and ordering the reinstatement of employees who had already lost their jobs. She subsequently extended most of this relief in her May 22 ruling.
The San Francisco-based 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals, in a 2-1 ruling on May 30, denied the Trump administration’s request to suspend the judge’s order.
The 9th Circuit determined that the administration had failed to demonstrate that it would suffer irreparable harm if the judge’s order remained in effect, and that the plaintiffs were likely to succeed in their lawsuit.
“The executive order at issue here far exceeds the president’s supervisory powers under the Constitution,” the 9th Circuit wrote, characterizing the administration’s actions as “an unprecedented attempted restructuring of the federal government and its operations.”
Since his return to office in January, Trump’s administration has increasingly sought relief from the Supreme Court in various cases where lower court rulings have impeded its policy initiatives.
