The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday lifted a lower court’s block on President Donald Trump’s sweeping plan to carry out mass layoffs of federal workers, clearing a major legal hurdle for the administration’s ambitious effort to shrink the federal bureaucracy.
In an unsigned order, the court sided with the Trump administration, which argued that the president has broad executive authority to implement workforce reductions and agency reforms without prior approval from Congress. The justices issued the stay on a previous ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Susan Illston, who had paused the executive action in May, citing constitutional concerns and the need for congressional authorization.
The legal challenge, brought by a coalition of labor unions, nonprofit organizations, and advocacy groups, contended that the Trump administration had overstepped its authority by initiating a dramatic federal workforce overhaul through executive orders alone.
Trump, who returned to the White House in January 2025, had quickly directed all federal agencies to submit workforce reduction plans as part of a broader push led by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), then headed by tech magnate Elon Musk. In a February 11 executive order, Trump called for a “critical transformation of the Federal bureaucracy,” instructing agencies to eliminate roles deemed non-essential.
The Supreme Court’s ruling noted that the government is “likely to succeed” in its defense of the executive order, but clarified that it was not ruling on the legality of individual agency plans, which remain subject to future legal scrutiny.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor, writing for the majority, stated, “The plans themselves are not before this Court, at this stage, and we thus have no occasion to consider whether they can and will be carried out consistent with the constraints of law.”
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the court’s sole dissenter, strongly criticized the ruling, accusing the court of prematurely endorsing a potentially unconstitutional power grab. “This Court sees fit to step in now and release the President’s wrecking ball at the outset of this litigation,” Jackson wrote. “Presidents may not fundamentally restructure the Federal Government all on their own.”
Since returning to office, Trump has aggressively pursued a downsizing agenda targeting federal programs and agencies, including the elimination of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), diversity initiatives, and various social programs.
The legal fight over the administration’s reorganization plans is expected to continue in lower courts, even as federal agencies begin implementing early phases of the executive order.
