Judge orders Trump administration to halt government overhaul
Ruling is broadest of its kind against DOGE efforts
By: Tom Hals
and Kanishka Singh
Reuters
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump;s administration must temporarily halt its sweeping government overhaul because Congress did not authorized it to carry out large-scale staffing cuts and the restructuring of agencies a federal judge said May 9. [2025]
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U.S. District Judge Susan Illston in San Francisco sided with a group of unions, nonprofits and local government, and blocked large-scale mass layoffs known as "reduction in force" for 14 days.
..... "As history demonstrates, the President may broadly restructure federal agencies only when authorized by Congress," said Illston.
..... The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
..... The ruling is the broadest of tis kind against the government overhaul that has been led by Elon Musk the world's richest person who is also COE of electric vehicle maker Tesla. Dozens of lawsuits have challenged DOGE's work on various grounds including violating privacy laws and exceeding its authority, with mixed results.
..... Trump directed government, agencies in February [2025] to work with the Department of Government Efficiency to identify targets for mass layoffs.
..... Trump urged agencies to eliminate duplicative roles, unnecessary management layers, and noncritical jobs, while automating routine tasks, closing regional field offices and reducing the use of outside contractors.
..... "The Trump administration's unlawful attempt to reorganize the federal government has thrown agencies into chaos, disrupting critical services provided across our nation," said a statement from the coalition of plaintiffs.
..... "Each of us represents communities deeply invested in the efficiency of the federal government - laying off federal employees and reorganizing government functions haphazardly does not achieve that."
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Illston scheduled a hearing for May 22 [2025] to consider a longer-lasting preliminary injunction.
..... She said that the plaintiffs are likely to succeed on merits of some of their claims in their lawsuit, which was filed on April 28 [2025] and alleged Trump exceeded his authority. It also alleged the Office of Manage and Budget, DOGE and Office of Personnel Management exceeded their authority and violated administrative law.
..... Illston said plaintiffs are likely to suffer irreparable harm without the temporary retaining order, which she said preserves the status guo. She said the plaintiffs submitted more than 1,000 pages of evidence and 62 Sworn declarations and she highlighted some of the material.
..... For example, she said the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and its Pittsburgh office, which researches health hazards facing mine workers, had 221 of the department's 222 workers terminated, citing the union. she gave similar examples at local offices of Head Start, which supports early learning, the Farm Service Agency and the Social Security Administration.
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"He court here is not considering the potential loss of income of one individual employee, but the widespread termination of salaries and benefits for individuals, families and communities," Illston wrote in her ruling.