Overview

• By lifting the injunction, the Supreme Court cleared the path for staff-cutting measures that could affect tens of thousands of federal employees.
• In an opinion by Justice Sotomayor, the court held that President Trump’s February order directing agencies to plan cuts is presumptively lawful under existing law.
• Rather than reviewing agency reorganization details, justices remanded those plans to the district court for further scrutiny.
• Judge Susan Illston’s May injunction had halted mass layoffs on grounds that they likely require congressional authorization.
• Justice Jackson dissented, warning that the decision grants the president unchecked authority to reshape the federal bureaucracy.