SCOTUS Greenlights Trump Plans For ‘Large-Scale’ Firings At Federal Agencies
The U.S. Supreme Court has handed President Donald J. Trump yet another legal victory, clearing the way for his historic plan to slash the bloated federal bureaucracy and carry out mass layoffs across government agencies.
In an unsigned order released Friday, the justices overturned a freeze by Clinton-appointed Judge Susan Illston of the Northern District of California, who had blocked Trump’s February 13 directive calling for “large-scale reductions in force.” The Court ruled that Illston’s decision was based on her personal view of the order’s legality rather than the actual reorganization plans, which were not before the court.
“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 wrote.
Even liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor sided with the majority, though she stressed she was not endorsing the merits of Trump’s plan itself — only that it was too soon to block it. “I join the Court’s stay because it leaves the District Court free to consider those questions in the first instance,” she wrote.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented, warning of what she called “mass employee terminations, widespread cancellation of federal programs and services, and the dismantling of much of the Federal Government as Congress has created it.” She argued that Trump needed congressional approval to move forward, writing, “Under our Constitution, Congress has the power to establish administrative agencies and detail their functions.”
The majority rejected that argument, affirming that the administration has authority to begin implementing the president’s reorganization plan.
A Bold Push to Shrink Washington
The downsizing effort is part of President Trump’s broader push to drain the swamp, restore efficiency, and return power to the people. The Department of Government Efficiency — formerly headed by Elon Musk — is overseeing the transition.
Progressive groups and government unions had scrambled to block the initiative, as it would cut personnel at agencies including Agriculture, Energy, Labor, Interior, Treasury, State, Veterans Affairs, and the EPA.
Attorney General Pam Bondi hailed the ruling in a post on X: “Today, the Supreme Court stopped lawless lower courts from restricting President Trump’s authority over federal personnel — another Supreme Court victory thanks to [Justice Department] attorneys. Now, federal agencies can become more efficient than ever before.”
The decision marks yet another high court win for Trump in his second term, reinforcing his authority to realign Washington’s sprawling bureaucracy.
Momentum at the High Court
The ruling comes on the heels of another major development: in June, the Court agreed to hear a Republican-led challenge to federal campaign finance restrictions. The case, National Republican Senatorial Committee v. Federal Election Commission, questions whether federal limits on party expenditures on behalf of candidates violate the First Amendment.
Brought by the NRSC, the NRCC, and Senate candidates including now-Vice President JD Vance, the case argues that such limits “severely restrict political party committees from doing what the First Amendment entitles them to do: fully associate with and advocate for their candidates for federal office.”
With presidential contenders in 2024 raising a staggering $2 billion and spending around $1.8 billion, a ruling by the Court’s 6-3 conservative majority could reshape the landscape of American elections by tearing down decades-old restrictions dating back to the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971.
For President Trump, the Supreme Court’s latest decision on federal downsizing is another step in his mission to dismantle entrenched bureaucracy and restore constitutional government.