The Trump administration made yet another emergency appeal to the Supreme Court Friday, this time asking it to lift a district judge’s order halting layoffs for thousands of federal workers.
U.S. District Judge Susan Illston, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton, blocked any mass “reductions in force” for two weeks at federal agencies, siding with federal worker unions, nonprofits, and local governments who contended the abrupt firings were illegal.
The White House said it wants to fire workers ASAP.
“That far-reaching order bars almost the entire executive branch from formulating and implementing plans to reduce the size of the federal workforce,” Trump’s lawyers wrote in their filing to the Supreme Court.
They added that Illston’s order “does all of that based on the extraordinary view that the President lacks authority to direct executive agencies how to exercise their statutory powers to conduct large-scale personnel actions within the Executive Branch.”
Illston ruled on May 9 that Trump had exceeded his presidential authority by firing so many Americans, claiming that such decisions needed to be made by, or in conjunction with, Congress.
“As history demonstrates, the president may broadly restructure federal agencies only when authorized by Congress,” Illston wrote in the order.
The Department of Justice countered in its filing that the office of the presidency gives Trump the power to restructure departments and fire federal workers as he pleases.
There was no immediate word from the court on whether it would act on the administration’s latest request. Friday’s ask marks the 15th time the Trump administration has made an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court since he returned to office.
Supreme Court justices have been busy this week. On Friday, the court ruled 7-2 that Trump did not have the authority to deport more migrants without due process under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act. That came after two days of oral arguments on other cases, including whether Trump has the power to end birthright citizenship.
The high court has a conservative majority, but its entire conservative bloc is not in lockstep with MAGA. As such, Trump has taken to Truth Social to air his frustrations with the judicial branch holding his power in check.
He posted Thursday: “The Radical Left SleazeBags, which has no cards remaining in its illegal bag of tricks, is, in a very coordinated manner, PLAYING THE REF with regard to the United States Supreme Court.”
His posting devolved further on Friday.
“THE SUPREME COURT IS BEING PLAYED BY THE RADICAL LEFT LOSERS, WHO HAVE NO SUPPORT, THE PUBLIC HATES THEM, AND THEIR ONLY HOPE IS THE INTIMIDATION OF THE COURT, ITSELF,” the president wrote. “WE CAN’T LET THAT HAPPEN TO OUR COUNTRY!”
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