By Corinne Ramey
The Supreme Court on Tuesday lifted a halt on President Trump's plan to shrink the federal workforce, clearing the way for potential mass layoffs of federal workers.
In February, Trump issued an executive order aimed at drastically reducing the government's workforce "by eliminating waste, bloat, and insularity." The order directed heads of agencies to work with the Department of Government Efficiency on hiring decisions and develop plans for layoffs. In May, a federal judge in San Francisco blocked it from taking effect
The high court, in an unsigned order on Tuesday, said it had based its decision on the legality of Trump's executive order itself, and didn't rule on whether the reorganization plans broke the law.
"The Government is likely to succeed on its argument that the Executive Order and Memorandum are lawful," the court said.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented, accusing the court of greenlighting legally dubious actions.
"This was the wrong decision at the wrong moment, especially given what little this Court knows about what is actually happening on the ground," she wrote.
Write to Corinne Ramey at corinne.ramey@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 08, 2025 16:04 ET (20:04 GMT)
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