A federal judge has obstructed the Trump administration’s plans to significantly reduce employment and reorganize several key federal agencies.
The preliminary injunction, granted on Thursday, halts any further job cuts and prohibits the reorganization of the executive branch for the duration of the ongoing lawsuit.
In her ruling, Judge Susan Illston emphasized that while presidents can set policies and agency heads can implement them, it is Congress that creates and funds federal agencies, delegating specific duties that must be fulfilled by law. “Agencies may not execute large-scale reorganizations and layoffs in blatant disregard of Congress’s directives,” she wrote. “A President cannot initiate significant executive branch reorganizations without collaborating with Congress.”
The injunction was the result of legal action taken against a February 11 executive order from President Trump, which initiated what the administration termed a “critical transformation of the Federal bureaucracy” and called upon agency heads to prepare for drastic staff reductions.
The lawsuit was initiated by a coalition of unions representing federal employees, advocacy groups, and multiple municipalities and states.
The Trump administration has since moved to request that the Supreme Court intervene to pause Illston’s temporary restraining order that blocks the reorganization initiatives.
Solicitor General John Sauer highlighted the extensive nature of the order, which he stated effectively restricts the entire executive branch from making decisions regarding workforce reductions and mandates the release of sensitive agency documents potentially protected by executive privilege. “Neither Congress nor the Executive Branch has ever intended to create a class of federal employees with lifetime tenure, irrespective of workload,” Sauer argued. “This Court should stay the district court’s order.”
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