In a split decision, a federal appeals court panel Friday kept in place a lower court’s order temporarily blocking the White House from carrying out more mass layoffs at the Departments of Defense, Energy, Interior and many other agencies.
In a 2-to-1 decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit kept in place a preliminary injunction by U.S. District Judge Susan Illston, which held the administration of President Donald Trump lacks authority to undertake a widespread government reorganization without congressional involvement.
“Acting as the motions panel of our court, we deny defendants’ emergency motion for a stay of the district court’s preliminary injunction,” according to the May 30 ruling.
“It has now been over a month since plaintiffs first filed their complaint,” the panel goes on to say. The case was brought by plaintiffs such as the American Federation of Government Employees, non-profit groups and municipal governments. “Defendants have yet to show the district court—or us—a single piece of evidence in support of its allegation of irreparable injury resulting from the district court’s TRO [temporary restraining order] or preliminary injunction.”
As a result, there is no evidence that the administration will suffer “irreparable” harm by putting mass firings and agency re-organization plans on hold pending further review, the appeals court said. The panel agreed with the federal district judge’s earlier finding that the administration won’t suffer significant harm is the status quo is preserved at least temporarily.
The appeals court also said President Trump’s 2025 executive order is far different than the executive order President Bill Clinton used to pare government payrolls in the 1990s.
That order required a 4% reduction in federal jobs over three years largely through attrition or buyout programs overseen by agency heads, the court said. “Even setting aside the difference in scale” the court said, congress “expressly authorized” voluntary separation incentive payments.
“At the Department of Energy, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has proposed cuts of up to 50% to the agency’s workforce, including cuts of 54% to science and innovation programs and 61% to energy infrastructure and deployment,” according to the majority opinion.
Circuit Court Judge Consuelo Callahan dissented from the panel major. Judge Callahan said the president has authority over the executive branch and orders on federal layoffs and agency reorganization were issued under applicable law.
