In a major victory for President Donald Trump, the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday blocked a lower court order that would have forced his administration to rehire more than 16,000 federal employees from six government agencies. The brief, unsigned decision clears the way for Trump to proceed with his plan to reduce the federal workforce as part of his effort to streamline Washington.
The ruling halted a March 13 injunction issued by U.S. District Judge William Alsup in California, which had directed the Trump administration to reinstate probationary employees at the Departments of Defense, Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Energy, Interior, and Treasury. The injunction had been the result of a lawsuit filed by nine nonprofit organizations challenging the legality of the terminations. However, the Supreme Court’s Tuesday order stated that those organizations lacked the legal standing to sue.
The justices temporarily stayed Judge Alsup’s injunction while an appeal is underway at the Ninth Circuit and the Supreme Court considers a petition for certiorari. If the Supreme Court opts not to review the case, the stay will be lifted automatically. However, if the Court accepts the case, the stay will remain in effect until a final judgment is issued. In dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor stated that she would have denied the request for a stay, and Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson also dissented, questioning why the Court was intervening at this stage of the proceedings. However, the majority did not address the broader merits of the case or the claims raised by other plaintiffs.
The Trump administration defended the layoffs as a legitimate effort to reform federal operations and enhance accountability, citing poor performance reviews and a push for greater budget efficiency as justification for the terminations. Moreover, the Department of Justice sharply criticized Alsup’s ruling, arguing that it violated the separation of powers between the executive and judicial branches. The Supreme Court’s ruling concentrated solely on the arguments presented by nonprofit organizations, which formed the basis of Judge Alsup’s original decision. However, separate claims brought by a union could still trigger further legal battles. Notably, the lawsuit does not include any individual federal workers.
