From NBC News: The Supreme Court will allow reductions in force and reorganizations at almost two dozen departments and agencies across the federal government to move forward while the appeals process in that case is underway.
In February, Trump signed an executive order called “Implementing the President’s ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ Workforce Optimization Initiative,” in which he ordered sweeping cuts to the federal workforce. A subsequent memo from the White House told agencies to prepare for the cuts.
A federal judge in California in May paused the administration’s efforts to downsize the government. The government appealed that decision with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.
The justices made clear the order is not about the legality of any individual decisions — only the legality of Trump’s executive order and the White House memo related to RIFs and reorganizations.
“In my view, this was the wrong decision at the wrong moment, especially given what little this Court knows about what is actually happening on the ground,” Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the only justice dissent with the opinion.
“This case is about whether that action amounts to a structural overhaul that usurps Congress’s policymaking prerogatives—and it is hard to imagine deciding that question in any meaningful way after those changes have happened,” she continued. “Yet, for some reason, this Court sees fit to step in now and release the President’s wrecking ball at the outset of this litigation.”
“In my view,” Jackson wrote, “this decision is not only truly unfortunate but also hubristic and senseless.”
Fellow liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor disagreed with Jackson, in part.
Writing in concurrence with the decision of the Court, Sotomayor said, “I agree with Justice Jackson that the President cannot restructure federal agencies in a manner inconsistent with congressional mandates.
“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. I join the Court’s stay because it leaves the District Court free to consider those questions in the first instance.”
The Supreme Court has granted the Trump administration’s request to pause a district court order preventing the government from formulating and implementing plans to initiate large-scale reductions of the federal workforce. Justice Jackson dissented.
— SCOTUSblog (@SCOTUSblog) July 8, 2025
The State Department released the following statement:
Today’s near unanimous decision from the Supreme Court further confirms that the law was on our side throughout this entire process. We will continue to move forward with our historic reorganization plan at the State Department, as announced earlier this year. This is yet another testament to President Trump’s dedication to following through on an America First agenda.
Today’s near unanimous decision from the Supreme Court further confirms that the law was on our side throughout this entire process. We will continue to move forward with our historic reorganization plan at the State Department, as announced earlier this year. This is yet another…
— Department of State (@StateDept) July 8, 2025
BREAKING: Supreme Court lets Trump move forward with plans for large-scale reductions in the federal workforce.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson issued the only dissent. pic.twitter.com/bDEFLhIG8z
— Katelynn Richardson (@katesrichardson) July 8, 2025
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