Supreme Court clears the way for Trump's plans to downsize the federal
workforce
[July 09, 2025]
By MARK SHERMAN
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Tuesday cleared the way for
President Donald Trump’s plans to downsize the federal workforce despite
warnings that critical government services will be lost and hundreds of
thousands of federal employees will be out of their jobs.
The justices overrode lower court orders that temporarily froze the
cuts, which have been led by the Department of Government Efficiency.
The court said in an unsigned order that no specific cuts were in front
of the justices, only an executive order issued by Trump and an
administration directive for agencies to undertake job reductions.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was the only dissenting vote, accusing her
colleagues of a “demonstrated enthusiasm for greenlighting this
President’s legally dubious actions in an emergency posture.”
Jackson warned of enormous real-world consequences. “This executive
action promises mass employee terminations, widespread cancellation of
federal programs and services, and the dismantling of much of the
Federal Government as Congress has created it," she wrote.
The high court action continued a remarkable winning streak for Trump,
who the justices have allowed to move forward with significant parts of
his plan to remake the federal government. The Supreme Court's
intervention so far has been on the frequent emergency appeals the
Justice Department has filed objecting to lower-court rulings as
improperly intruding on presidential authority.
The Republican president has repeatedly said voters gave him a mandate
for the work, and he tapped billionaire ally Elon Musk to lead the
charge through DOGE. Musk recently left his role.
“Today’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling is another definitive victory for the
President and his administration. It clearly rebukes the continued
assaults on the President’s constitutionally authorized executive powers
by leftist judges who are trying to prevent the President from achieving
government efficiency across the federal government,” White House
spokesperson Harrison Fields said in a statement.
Tens of thousands of federal workers have been fired, have left their
jobs via deferred resignation programs or have been placed on leave.
There is no official figure for the job cuts, but at least 75,000
federal employees took deferred resignation and thousands of
probationary workers have already been let go.
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The Supreme Court is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington, Dec. 17,
2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
In May, U.S. District Judge Susan Illston found that Trump’s
administration needs congressional approval to make sizable
reductions to the federal workforce. By a 2-1 vote, a panel of the
U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals refused to block Illston’s order,
finding that the downsizing could have broader effects, including on
the nation’s food-safety system and health care for veterans.
Illston directed numerous federal agencies to halt acting on the
president’s workforce executive order signed in February and a
subsequent memo issued by DOGE and the Office of Personnel
Management. Illston was nominated by former Democratic President
Bill Clinton.
The labor unions and nonprofit groups that sued over the downsizing
offered the justices several examples of what would happen if it
were allowed to take effect, including cuts of 40% to 50% at several
agencies. Baltimore, Chicago and San Francisco were among cities
that also sued.
“Today’s decision has dealt a serious blow to our democracy and puts
services that the American people rely on in grave jeopardy. This
decision does not change the simple and clear fact that reorganizing
government functions and laying off federal workers en masse
haphazardly without any congressional approval is not allowed by our
Constitution," the parties that sued said in a joint statement.
Among the agencies affected by the order are the departments of
Agriculture, Energy, Labor, the Interior, State, the Treasury and
Veterans Affairs. It also applies to the National Science
Foundation, Small Business Association, Social Security
Administration and Environmental Protection Agency.
The case now continues in Illston's court.
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