The Trump administration requested the Supreme Court on Monday to intervene in lower court decisions that have hindered significant labor reductions.
US Attorney General D. John Sauer criticized the lower court ruling, describing it as flawed and expressing that it resulted in “continuous and serious harm” to the administration’s reform initiatives.
Sauer stated in an emergency petition to the Supreme Court that the injunction is based on the flawed assumption that the President needs explicit Congressional approval to manage internal personnel decisions within the executive branch. “The Constitution doesn’t imply anything about presidential control over agency staffing, and the President doesn’t need special permission from Congress to utilize Core Article II powers,” he wrote.
This move follows Trump’s February executive order aimed at significantly downsizing the federal workforce, after which agencies, including the Department of Personnel Management, were directed to act on the order.
Last month, Judge Susan Ilston of the Northern District ruled that Trump did not have the authority to implement such drastic changes to the federal workforce without Congressional approval, specifically halting significant reductions, or RIF cuts, across 21 federal agencies.
Then, just last Friday, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, in a 2-1 decision, declined to grant the Trump administration’s appeal, the president’s final request now filed with the Supreme Court. The appeals court determined that Trump’s executive order “exceeds the supervisory powers granted to the president under the constitution.”
Sauer countered, claiming that the lower court’s injunction oversteps judicial authority and that Trump has the legitimate power to make such orders. He pointed out that the injunction has stopped various ongoing RIFs in multiple federal agencies and created confusion over related initiatives, resulting in additional costs for taxpayers.
The Trump administration has faced numerous universal injunctions from lower courts restricting some of the president’s key policies. Monday’s petition marks the 18th emergency appeal from the administration during Trump’s second term.
Last month, the Supreme Court dismissed another petition from the Trump administration regarding the same workforce cuts, although it was only meant to delay the ruling for two weeks.
Currently, the Supreme Court is reviewing a case related to birthright citizenship, which may serve as a broader measure of the administration’s attempts to limit lower court powers affecting critical policies. A decision in that case is anticipated by the end of the month.
