Trump appeals to Supreme Court to overturn block on federal job cuts

The Trump administration on Monday asked the US Supreme Court to lift a lower court order that blocks mass layoffs and restructuring efforts across multiple federal agencies, as part of President Donald Trump’s broader initiative to downsize the federal government, Reuters reported.

The Justice Department’s emergency request comes after US District Judge Susan Illston in San Francisco issued a May 22 ruling preventing large-scale job cuts — referred to as “reductions in force”—across more than 20 federal departments, including Agriculture, Commerce, Health and Human Services, State, Treasury, and Veterans Affairs. The ruling sided with unions, nonprofit organizations, and local governments that challenged the administration’s plan.

In its filing, the Justice Department argued that managing federal personnel is a core presidential power under Article II of the Constitution, and that Trump does not require explicit congressional approval to restructure executive agencies. “The Constitution does not erect a presumption against presidential control of agency staffing,” the brief stated.

The Supreme Court has asked the plaintiffs to respond to the administration’s filing by June 9.

President Trump directed agencies in February to prepare for sweeping layoffs as part of his government restructuring agenda. Judge Illston, however, ruled that such actions exceeded presidential authority, stating that significant agency overhauls require congressional approval.

Earlier, on May 9, Illston temporarily blocked layoffs for two weeks and ordered reinstatement of terminated workers. Her broader May 22 decision extended most of those protections.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld her ruling in a 2–1 decision on May 30, stating the administration had failed to show it would suffer irreparable harm if the order remained in place. The court described the executive order as “an unprecedented attempted restructuring of the federal government.”

This is one of several recent legal battles the Trump administration has escalated to the Supreme Court since his return to office in January.