A federal judge in California on Friday temporarily blocked plans for expansion and restructuring in 21 federal departments and agencies.
“The president has the power to seek changes to the administrative body, but he has to do so in a legitimate way, and in the case of a large-scale reorganization, with the cooperation of the legislative department.”
“Many presidents have previously sought this cooperation. Many iterations of Congress have provided it. There is nothing that prevents the president from demanding this cooperation. In fact, courts need to request Congress cooperation to order the changes they seek, and therefore need to issue temporary restraints to halt large-scale levels at an average time,” she wrote.
The temporary restraining order effectively puts the president’s “Government Efficiency” workforce optimization initiative on hold for two weeks to 21 departments and agencies. The order also includes notes issued by the Human Resources Bureau and the Doge office for the same effect.
Ilston, appointed by President Bill Clinton, said he believes there is no law that gives the Office of Personnel Management, the Office of Management and Budget, or directs other federal agencies to engage in major termination, restructuring or elimination. “Such actions are outside the scope of the authorities that Congress has been granted to the OPM or the OMB, and as pointed out, Doge has no statutory authority at all,” she wrote.
Since Trump took office in January, thousands of federal employees working in departments and agencies across the country have been eliminated, but the Trump administration has not made the exact number of affected employees available.
The department and agency blocked the establishment of a reduction or reorganization of the force. This includes Doge, the Office of Management and Budget, the Office of Personnel Management, Housing and Urban Development, and Internal and Transportation.
The Trump administration argued that the lawsuit filed on April 28 was missing in a timely manner as an executive order was issued almost three months ago. In similar cases across the country, the administration argues that lawsuits filed shortly after the administrative order was issued are premature. “The defendant cannot have it in both ways,” Judge Ilston wrote. “The court found that the plaintiffs are reasonably waiting to gather information about possible harms that could suffer from executive orders, OMB/OPM memos and ARRP (agent RIF and reorganization plans).”
“The Trump administration’s illegal attempts to restructure the federal government have thrown agencies into chaos and disrupt the vital services offered throughout our country,” a coalition of nonprofits, unions and local governments said Friday.
“Each of us represents a community that is deeply invested in federal efficiency. It doesn’t accomplish that by firing federal employees and reorganizing government functions to annul the functions of the government. We are pleased with the court’s decision to suspend these harmful actions while our lawsuit progresses.”
Illston will hear more debate in this case on May 22nd.
The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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