The Supreme Court on Tuesday clarified the path for President Donald Trump’s plan to reduce the federal workforce despite warnings that critical government services will be lost and that hundreds of thousands of federal employees will be out of their jobs.
The judiciary overturned a lower court order that temporarily frozen cuts led by the government’s ministry of efficiency.
The court said certain cuts are not before justice, and that only Trump issued executive orders, as well as the agencies that cut jobs, have not signed only administrative orders.
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson was the only vote against, denounced his colleagues “assisted enthusiasm for bringing this president’s legally suspicious behavior in an emergency position to green light.”
Jackson warned of the huge real-world outcomes. “This enforcement action promises the termination of public employees, extensive cancellation of federal programs and services, and the dismantling of many of the federal government’s government that Congress created it,” she wrote.
The High Court case continued a surprising winning streak for Trump, who allowed the judiciary to move forward with a key part of his plan to remake the federal government. Previous Supreme Court interventions have been based on frequent emergency appeals in which the Justice Department filed against the lower court’s decision as inappropriate intrusions with presidential authorities.
The Republican president has repeatedly said voters gave him a job mandate, and he tapped billionaire ally Elon Musk to lead the charges through Doge. Musk recently left his role.
Tens of thousands of federal workers have been fired and either quit their jobs or taken leave through a postponed resignation program. There are no official numbers for the job offer, but at least 75,000 federal employees have resigned, with thousands of probation workers already being left out.
In May, US District Judge Susan Ilston discovered that Trump’s administration would require Congressional approval to make significant cuts to the federal workforce. With a 2-1 vote, a panel of the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals refused to block Ilston’s order and found that downsizing could have broader effects, including the country’s food safety system and veteran health care.
Ilston directed many federal agencies to act on the President’s Labor Force executive order signed in February, and directed memos issued by Doge and the Office of Personnel Management. Ilston was appointed former Democrat President Bill Clinton.
Unions and nonprofits who advocated for a reduction provided the judiciary with several examples of what would happen if it were effective, including a 40% to 50% reduction in several institutions. Baltimore, Chicago and San Francisco were among the cities that sued.
“Today’s decision will take a serious blow to our democracy and provide services that Americans rely on serious risks. This decision will not change the simple and clear fact that it will reorganize government functions and accidentally throw away federal workers without Congressional approval.
Among the agencies affected by the order are the Agriculture, Energy, Labor, Internal, State, Treasury and Veterans Divisions. It also applies to the National Science Foundation, Small Business Association, Social Security Agency, and the Environmental Protection Agency.
The case is currently continuing in the courthouse in Ilston.
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