Catenaa, Wednesday, July 09, 2025– The US Supreme Court on Tuesday lifted a lower court’s block on President Donald Trump’s plan to downsize the federal workforce, paving the way for mass layoffs across more than a dozen government agencies.
The decision marks a significant legal victory for Trump’s agenda to reshape the federal bureaucracy through executive authority.
The ruling allows the administration to resume implementing a February executive order that instructed agencies to prepare for large-scale cuts.
Affected departments include State, Treasury, Agriculture, and Veterans Affairs, with some agencies -such as USAID and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau- already facing major staff reductions under the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency led by Elon Musk.
The justices, in a brief unsigned opinion, said Trump is likely to succeed in his argument that the president has the authority to reorganize the executive branch.
Liberal Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented, warning of unchecked executive power.
The decision reverses a May order by US District Judge Susan Illston, who had ruled Trump overstepped by bypassing Congress, which originally authorized and funded the agencies.
However, Tuesday’s ruling does not grant immediate authority to execute layoffs; challenges from unions and local governments are expected to continue.
Roughly 260,000 federal workers have already exited through terminations, resignations, or early retirements. Critics argue the chaotic implementation threatens public services, while supporters hail the move as a long-overdue overhaul of bloated government.
