Supreme Court clears path for Trump’s federal workforce layoffs
News | By Easton Martin | July 8, 2025
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday to uphold President Donald Trump’s executive order authorizing large-scale layoffs across multiple federal agencies. The decision, delivered in an 8–1 vote, lifts a lower court injunction and allows the administration to move forward with its plan to reduce the federal workforce.
The February 11 executive order, carried out through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), mandates sweeping cuts to staffing across at least a dozen federal agencies, including the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, State, and Veterans Affairs, as well as the IRS and the Social Security Administration. Temporary and probationary employees are among the first to be impacted unless agency heads issue specific exemptions.
A federal judge in San Francisco had blocked the order in May, arguing it exceeded the president’s authority without congressional approval. However, the Supreme Court found that the administration is likely to prevail on the merits of its case and allowed the layoffs to proceed while further litigation continues.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was the lone dissenter. In her opinion, she warned the decision could result in “serious and irreversible harm” to government functions and bypass the necessary role of Congress in such matters.
Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan joined the majority but noted that the legality of specific agency actions under the order remains open to challenge in lower courts.
Critics, including labor unions and Democratic-led states, argue the move could significantly undermine essential public services. Supporters, however, praise the ruling as a long-overdue step toward curbing federal bureaucracy and improving efficiency.
The ruling marks a significant legal victory for the Trump administration and paves the way for one of the most ambitious federal restructuring efforts in decades.
