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From NBC News: The Trump administration has again asked the Supreme Court to allow it to move forward with a broad “reduction in force” plan for federal agencies that was blocked by a federal judge.
The administration had filed an essentially identical request last month, but withdrew it after additional lower court rulings in the case, which meant the justices never had a chance to weigh in.
In the new filing, Solicitor General D. John Sauer said the district court ruling covers “most of the federal government — and even restricts the Executive in planning personnel actions pursuant to presidential direction.”
Saucer says the ruling impacts 22 government departments and agencies, the report notes.
President Donald Trump issued an executive order in February directing federal agencies to “promptly undertake preparations to initiate large-scale reductions in force (RIFs), consistent with applicable law.”
In response, a group of labor unions, local governments, and advocacy groups sued to block implementation of the order. California-based U.S. District Judge Susan Illston issued a temporary restraining order, prohibiting the administration from proceeding with any RIFs.
According Illston, the president can’t institute major reorganizations. That must be done through Congress.
From SCOTUS blog:
In Trump v. American Federation of Government Employees, U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer had asked the justices to put an earlier order by Senior U.S. District Judge Susan Illston on hold last month. But Sauer withdrew that request on May 23, after Illston issued a preliminary injunction to replace the temporary restraining order that she had issued on May 9.
In his new filing on Monday, which repeats many of the same arguments that he made in his original filing on May 16, Sauer told the justices that Illston’s order “inflicts ongoing and severe harm on the government calling for this Court’s intervention.” The order, he continued, “interferes with the Executive Branch’s internal operations and unquestioned legal authority to plan and carry out RIFs, and does so on a government-wide scale.”
The Supreme Court did not act on the Trump administration’s request or instruct the plaintiffs to file a response to Sauer’s May 16 filing. Instead, on May 23, Sauer withdrew the request, telling the justices that Illston had issued a preliminary injunction to replace the May 9 temporary restraining order. The government had appealed that injunction to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, Sauer wrote.
After a divided panel of the 9th Circuit rejected the government’s request to put Illston’s new order on hold, Sauer returned to the Supreme Court on Monday, once again asking the justices to intervene. He also asked the justices to issue an administrative stay, which would put Illston’s order on hold while the justices consider Sauer’s request.
The court has instructed the plaintiffs to file their response by noon on Monday, June 9.
NEW: President Trump's administration asks Supreme Court to lift block on mass federal layoffs, Reuters reports. pic.twitter.com/lkrUgFl9tg
— Resist the Mainstream (@ResisttheMS) June 2, 2025
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