Washington — The Supreme Court on Tuesday lifted a lower court order that blocked sweeping layoffs of federal workers at nearly two dozen agencies while a legal battle over President Trump’s plans to drastically cut the size of the government moves forward.
The high court’s order clears the way for the Trump administration to resume its efforts to reorganize and scale back the federal government, which has been led by the White House’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.
The Justice Department turned to the Supreme Court for emergency relief after a federal judge in May ordered a halt to the job cuts and enforcement of other orders by DOGE to slash programs or staff.
In a brief unsigned opinion, the Supreme Court said that the injunction issued by the district court was based on its view that Mr. Trump’s executive order and directives from the Office of Management and Budget and Office of Personnel Management implementing that action are unlawful.
“Because the Government is likely to succeed on its argument that the Executive Order and Memorandum are lawful — and because the other factors bearing on whether to grant a stay are satisfied — we grant the application,” the court said. “We express no view on the legality of any Agency RIF and Reorganization Plan produced or approved pursuant to the Executive Order and Memorandum. The District Court enjoined further implementation or approval of the plans based on its view about the illegality of the Executive Order and Memorandum, not on any assessment of the plans themselves. Those plans are not before this Court.”
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented from the court’s decision.
