Trump asks the Supreme Court to clear the way for federal downsizing
plans
[June 03, 2025]
By MARK SHERMAN
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s administration on Monday
renewed its request for the Supreme Court to clear the way for plans to
downsize the federal workforce, while a lawsuit filed by labor unions
and cities proceeds.
The high court filing came after an appeals court refused to freeze a
California-based judge’s order halting the cuts, which have been led by
the Department of Government Efficiency.
By a 2-1 vote, a panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals found
that the downsizing could have broader effects, including on the
nation’s food-safety system and health care for veterans.
In her ruling last month, U.S. District Judge Susan Illston found that
Trump’s administration needs congressional approval to make sizable
reductions to the federal workforce.
The administration initially asked the justices to step in last month,
but withdrew its appeal for technical, legal reasons. The latest filing
is one in a series of emergency appeals arguing federal judges had
overstepped their authority.
Illston's order “rests on the indefensible premise that the President
needs explicit statutory authorization from Congress to exercise his
core Article II authority to superintend the internal personnel
decisions of the Executive Branch," Solicitor General D. John Sauer
wrote in the new appeal.
Trump has repeatedly said voters gave him a mandate to remake the
federal government, and he tapped billionaire ally Elon Musk to lead the
charge through DOGE. Musk left his role last week.
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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.
Illston’s order directs 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.
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 Supreme Court set a deadline of next Monday for a response from
the unions and cities, including Baltimore, Chicago and San
Francisco.
Some of the labor unions and nonprofit groups are also plaintiffs in
another lawsuit before a San Francisco judge challenging the mass
firings of probationary workers. In that case, Judge William Alsup
ordered the government in March to reinstate those workers, but the
U.S. Supreme Court later blocked his order.
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