The Supreme Court has given President Donald Trump the green light to move forward with his Feb. 11 executive order, which aims to reorganize and reduce staff across the federal government.
The 17-page ruling suspended a May 22 preliminary injunction issued by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California that had blocked the executive order and a memorandum issued by two government agencies that directed the large-scale federal workforce reductions and agency reorganizations.
The District Court cited internal documents that pointed to staff reductions across major federal agencies, including 93% of positions at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, almost 50% of roles at the Energy Department, more than half of the employees at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a 70% cut at the Labor Department’s headquarters and reducing 83,000 roles at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Justice Kentanji Brown Jackson issued a dissent on the ruling, arguing that the executive order posed risk to separation of powers and could cause “irreparable harm.”
“In my view, this decision is not only truly unfortunate but also hubristic and senseless,” she wrote. “[The] statutory shortfalls likely to result from implementation of this executive order will be immensely painful to the general public, and the plaintiffs, in the interim, causing harm that includes ‘proliferat[ing] foodborne disease,’ perpetuating ‘hazardous environmental conditions,’ ‘eviscerat[ing] disaster loan services for local businesses,’ and ‘drastically reduc[ing] the provision of healthcare and other services to our nation’s veterans.'”
While Justice Sonia Sotomayor agreed with some of Ms. Jackson’s opinions, she concurred with the ruling.
“I agree with Justice Jackson that the President [Trump] cannot restructure federal agencies in a manner inconsistent with congressional mandates,” Ms. Sotomayor wrote. “Here, however, the relevant Executive Order directs agencies to plan reorganizations and reductions in force ‘consistent with applicable law.'”
The ruling comes after U.S. District Judge Melissa DuBose granted a preliminary injunction July 1 to halt the downsizing and reorganization of HHS, which in late March shared plans to lay off 10,000 full-time employees as part of a “dramatic restructuring” to save taxpayers $1.8 billion annually.
While not explicitly listed in the July 8 ruling, HHS is a federal agency that could face further restructuring in the wake of the ruling.
