Supreme Court clears the way for Trump’s plans to downsize the federal workforce
WASHINGTON AP The Supreme Court on Tuesday cleared the way for President Donald Trump s plans to downsize the federal workforce despite warnings that critical ruling body services will be lost and hundreds of thousands of federal employees will be out of their jobs The justices overrode lower court orders that temporarily froze the cuts which have been led by the Department of Executive Efficiency Related Articles Antisemitism hearings put UC Berkeley Cal Poly under congressional spotlight Minnesota state Sen John Hoffman shot times by a man posing as an officer leaves the hospital Israel outlines plans to pack Gaza s population into a closed boundary zone Here s a closer look Bird flu emergency response ends in US as infections decline US adults want the establishment to focus on child care costs not birth rates poll finds The court declared in an unsigned order that no specific cuts were in front of the justices only an executive order issued by Trump and an administration directive for agencies to undertake job reductions Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was the only dissenting vote accusing her colleagues of a demonstrated enthusiasm for greenlighting this President s legally dubious actions in an crisis posture Trump has repeatedly revealed voters gave him a mandate to remake the federal executive and he tapped billionaire ally Elon Musk to lead the charge through DOGE Musk in recent weeks left his role 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 federal employees took deferred resignation and thousands of probationary workers have already been let go In May U S District Judge Susan Illston determined that Trump s administration demands congressional approval to make sizable reductions to the federal workforce By a - vote a panel of the U S th Circuit Court of Appeals refused to block Illston s order finding that the downsizing could have broader effects including on the nation s food-safety system and vitality care for veterans Illston directed 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 was nominated by former Democratic President Bill Clinton The labor unions and nonprofit groups that sued over the downsizing offered the justices several examples of what would happen if it were allowed to take effect including cuts of to at several agencies Among the agencies affected by the order are the departments of Agriculture Potency Labor the Interior State the Treasury and Veterans Affairs It also applies to the National Science Foundation Small Business Association Social Safety Administration and Environmental Protection Agency
