US Supreme Court clears way for Trump to pursue mass federal layoffs

The US Supreme Court has cleared the way for President Donald Trump to move forward with sweeping plans to cut the federal workforce, potentially leading to tens of thousands of layoffs across key government agencies.

The ruling on Tuesday stems from a February executive order in which Trump directed agencies to prepare for mass downsizing as part of a broader effort to reshape the federal bureaucracy.

Departments expected to face cuts include Agriculture, State, Treasury, Health and Human Services, Veterans Affairs, and many others.

In a brief, unsigned order, the court said the Trump administration is "likely to succeed" in its argument that the executive order falls within the president’s legal authority.

The ruling lifts a lower court’s decision that had temporarily blocked the plan.

The decision marks another victory in Trump's push to consolidate executive power, with the court recently backing several of his controversial policy shifts on immigration, military rules, and federal authority.

Tuesday’s ruling reverses a May injunction from US District Judge Susan Illston, who said the mass layoffs could not proceed without congressional approval.

"As history demonstrates, the president may broadly restructure federal agencies only when authorised by Congress," Illston wrote at the time.

While the Supreme Court’s decision allows Trump to continue restructuring plans, the justices did not weigh in on the legality of specific layoff proposals.

Agencies may still face legal obstacles from labour unions, federal protections, and statutory limitations.

‘Definitive victory’

The White House hailed the ruling as a "definitive victory for the president and his administration" and said it reaffirmed Trump’s ability to implement "efficiency across the federal government."

Federal employee unions and advocacy groups that filed the lawsuit warned the layoffs would cripple essential public services.

"This ruling puts services that the American people rely on in grave jeopardy," they said in a joint statement.

According to internal government tallies, roughly 260,000 civil servants have already resigned, retired, or been laid off since Trump took office in January — part of a campaign led by Elon Musk, who heads the newly created Department of Government Efficiency.

Under Musk’s direction, major cuts were made to the US Agency for International Development and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, while teams of political appointees assumed control of federal IT systems and operations.

Critics say the shakeup has created chaos within agencies, with backlogs mounting in Social Security claims, veterans' benefits, and regulatory oversight.

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Source: TRT