|
A split three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of
Appeals found that the downsizing could have significant ripple
effects on everything from the nation's food-safety system to
veteran health care, and should stay on hold while a lawsuit
plays out.
The judge who dissented, however, said President Donald Trump
likely does have the legal authority to downsize the executive
branch and there is a separate process for workers to appeal.
The Republican administration had sought an emergency stay of an
injunction issued by U.S. Judge Susan Illston of San Francisco
in a lawsuit brought by labor unions and cities, including San
Francisco and Chicago, and the group Democracy Forward.
The Justice Department has also previously appealed her ruling
to the Supreme Court, one of a string of emergency appeals
arguing federal judges had overstepped their authority.
The judge’s order questioned whether Trump’s administration was
acting lawfully in trying to pare the federal workforce.
Trump has repeatedly said voters gave him a mandate to remake
the federal government, and he tapped billionaire Elon Musk to
lead the charge through the Department of Government Efficiency.
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, who was nominated to the bench by former President Bill
Clinton, a Democrat, wrote in her ruling that presidents can
make large-scale overhauls of federal agencies, but only with
the cooperation of Congress.
Lawyers for the government say that the executive order and memo
calling for large-scale personnel reductions and reorganization
plans provided only general principles that agencies should
follow in exercising their own decision-making process.
__
Associated Press writer Lindsay Whitehurst in Washington
contributed to this story.
All contents © copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights
reserved |
|
