In a landmark decision the U.S. Supreme Court in a 8-1 ruling cleared the way for President Donald Trump to slash federal workforce in any department.
In an 8-1 decision, with only Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissenting, the high court struck down Judge Illston’s May 22 Temporary Restraining Order (TRO), which had halted sweeping layoffs and organizational overhauls across 20 federal agencies.
The Supreme Court’s decision immediately frees the Trump administration to resume implementing its long-awaited Reduction-in-Force (RIF) measures and agency streamlining efforts aimed at trimming waste, cutting bureaucratic bloat, and restoring accountability to the federal workforce.
The original TRO was issued in response to a lawsuit brought by the AFL-CIO and the American Federation of Government Employees, two major left-wing public sector unions whose political influence has long shielded inefficient and redundant federal programs from reform.
In February, President Trump signed a bold executive order authorizing the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to initiate a comprehensive review and restructuring of 20 executive agencies.
The goal: to eliminate overlapping offices, dismantle outdated and politically entrenched programs, and slash bloated payrolls that have ballooned under decades of unchecked bureaucratic growth.
Judge Illston, in her ruling, claimed that President Trump lacked the authority to unilaterally reform executive agencies, arguing that such changes required legislative approval. “To make large-scale overhauls of federal agencies, any president must enlist the help of his co-equal branch and partner, the Congress,” she wrote.
Her opinion drew sharp criticism from constitutional scholars and former government officials, many of whom pointed out that the president has broad discretion to manage the Executive Branch and implement organizational changes in accordance with his policy objectives.
The Supreme Court’s decision not only rebukes Judge Illston’s unprecedented attempt to limit executive power, but also sets a major precedent affirming the president’s ability to direct federal operations without being obstructed by activist judges.
With the ruling now in place, the Trump administration is set to resume the layoffs and restructuring process without delay. The targeted agencies include:
Department of Agriculture, Department of Commerce, Health and Human Services, Department of State, Department of the Treasury, Department of Veterans Affairs, and more than a dozen other bloated federal entities.
Reuters reported that the Supreme Court’s action enables the administration to move ahead with mass job reductions and fundamental changes to how these agencies operate.
These changes are at the core of Trump’s promise to restore accountability, shrink the federal footprint, and return power to the American taxpayer.
The decision is part of a growing pattern of judicial victories for the Trump administration. In recent months, the court has sided with Trump on key immigration issues, including resuming fast-track deportations and ending certain temporary legal statuses that were abused under previous administrations.
The court has also backed Trump’s decisions to end forced rehiring of federal workers previously fired for misconduct and has twice ruled in favor of the Department of Government Efficiency’s mandates.
This ruling is expected to unleash a new wave of downsizing initiatives across Washington, D.C., as Trump accelerates his effort to root out the administrative state and dismantle the unelected bureaucracy that has grown increasingly powerful and unaccountable.
As federal agencies prepare for what some are calling a historic transformation, opponents continue to voice concerns. But for supporters of limited government and executive accountability, the Supreme Court’s decision marks a crucial turning point in the fight to rein in federal overreach and restore the rightful balance of power within the American constitutional system.