President Donald Trump‘s administration suffered a legal blow on Friday when an appeals court refused to halt an injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Susan Illston of California that blocked sweeping federal employment cuts overseen by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Why It Matters
With Republicans enjoying a slim majority in both chambers of Congress, the courts have emerged as arguably the main impediment to Trump administration policy.
A series of planned policies, including the deportation of migrants to countries other than their own, a ban on transgender personnel serving in the military and the freezing of billions in foreign aid, have been blocked or frozen by the courts.
What To Know
In a 2-1 ruling at the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals concluded the decision would have a dramatic impact on a range of government services including veteran health care and food safety inspections and concluded it should remain on hold while the lawsuit continues.
As such, the Trump administration’s bid for an emergency stay of injunction blocking the application of Illston’s ruling was unsuccessful. It has also appealed her ruling to the Supreme Court.
The dissenting judge said Trump does have the legal authority to slash the executive branch and said there is already a process for employees to appeal, but was overruled.
The case had initially been brought by a coalition of cities, including Chicago and San Francisco, labor unions and campaign group Democracy Forward.
Illston’s initial order instructed the government to halt a workforce executive order on employment cuts issued in February and a subsequent memo to this end from DOGE and the Office of Personnel Management. Due to Friday’s ruling, this remains in effect.
Trump created DOGE under the leadership of tech billionaire Elon Musk shortly after his second presidential inauguration in January 2025.
The agency oversaw significant federal employment cuts, with thousands of federal workers in their probationary periods fired, while others were paid to quit their jobs, though these were later challenged in court.
On Friday, Musk was handed a large key by Trump at the White House as a thank you for his work with DOGE, from which he has now stepped back.
What People Are Saying
Judges’ William Fletcher and Lucy Koh in their majority opinion: “Pulling a small handful of examples from the record, we point out that the current executive reorganization facilitates the proliferation of foodborne disease, contributes to hazardous environmental conditions, hinders efforts to prevent and monitor infectious disease, eviscerates disaster loan services for local businesses, and drastically reduces the provision of health care and other services to our nation’s veterans.”
In a statement, the coalition of cities and labor groups who brought the original case said: “We are gratified by the court’s decision today to allow the pause of these harmful actions to endure while our case proceeds.”
In her initial ruling, Judge Susan Illston said: “The court holds the president likely must request Congressional cooperation to order the changes he seeks, and thus issues a temporary restraining order to pause large-scale reductions in force in the meantime.”
What Happens Next
Friday’s ruling means Illston’s initial decision to halt a workforce executive order remains in effect while the issue receives more detailed consideration in the courts.
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