A San Francisco-based federal appeals court on Friday denied the Trump administration’s bid to pause a lower court ruling that had blocked President Donald Trump’s directives for workforce reductions at federal agencies from taking effect.
In a 2-1 decision, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled—with one judge dissenting—that Trump’s executive order directing agency leaders to carry out mass firings “far exceeds the president’s supervisory powers under the Constitution.”
In her dissent, Circuit Judge Consuelo M. Callahan stated that federal agencies have statutory authority to lay off staff, which “contemplates that agency [reductions in force] may affect a significant number of employees.”
Callahan said that Trump’s order aimed to advance his “policy objective of reducing the size of the federal government” by directing agencies to initiate large-scale workforce reductions and to target departments that “perform functions not mandated by statute or other law.”
The judge said the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) do not have statutory power to direct other federal agencies to conduct large-scale staff terminations and restructuring.
The order applies to multiple federal agencies, including the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Labor, Transportation, Treasury, and Veterans Affairs.
Plaintiffs in the lawsuit include the American Federation of Government Employees, Alliance for Retired Americans, American Public Health Association, Center for Taxpayer Rights, and the cities and counties in California, Illinois, Maryland, Texas, and Washington.
The Epoch Times has reached out to the White House for comment and did not receive a response by publication time.
