Supreme Court Clears Way for Trump Administration’s Mass Layoffs of Federal Workers

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday lifted a lower court injunction that had blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order mandating large-scale layoffs and reorganizations across numerous federal agencies. This decision allows the Trump administration to resume its efforts to drastically reduce the federal workforce, a key part of its plan to downsize government operations and improve efficiency.

The Court’s unsigned order did not specify the vote count but indicated that the government is “likely to succeed” in its argument that the executive order and related memorandum directing workforce reductions are lawful. The ruling temporarily suspends a San Francisco federal judge’s injunction that had halted layoffs at 22 agencies, including major departments such as Agriculture, Health and Human Services, and State. The injunction was based on the view that such sweeping layoffs require congressional approval and that the executive branch cannot unilaterally dismantle or understaff agencies created by statute

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented, warning that the ruling risks enabling “mass terminations” and “radical downsizing” of federal agencies without proper legislative oversight. Justice Sonia Sotomayor concurred with the stay but emphasized that the legality of specific agency layoff plans remains to be decided by the lower courts

The Trump administration launched this initiative in February 2025 through an executive order directing agency heads to prepare for “large-scale reductions in force” (RIFs). The White House’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk, has been spearheading the implementation. The administration argues that the president has inherent authority to manage federal personnel and does not require congressional approval to conduct workforce reductions within the executive branch