The US Supreme Court on Tuesday cleared the way for President Donald Trump’s administration to resume plans for mass government job firing and the sweeping downsizing of several federal agencies, a verdict which could lead to thousands of layoffs as critics warn it could also threaten critical government services.
In a major victory for the US government, the Supreme Court on Tuesday lifted a lower court’s order that had frozen sweeping federal layoffs known as “reduction in force” which Trump had passed through an executive order in February, directing the agencies to prepare for mass layoffs.
After Trump’s order, the administration had come up with plans to reduce staff at the US Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Health and Human Services, State, Treasury, Veterans Affairs and several other federal agencies.
BREAKING: Supreme Court *allows* the Trump administration to implement large-scale layoffs across the federal government as litigation continues
The order is 8-1, with Justice Jackson dissenting pic.twitter.com/TwZf4x0TW4
— Jacob Wheeler (@JWheelertv) July 8, 2025
The Supreme Court, in a brief unsigned order, stated that the Trump administration was “likely to succeed” in its argument that the directives issued by the president were legally valid and well within his purview.
The top court’s verdict is the latest victory for the Trump administration which is making efforts to consolidate power in the executive branch. The US Supreme Court has sided with the Trump administration in multiple cases on an emergency expedited basis since the republican leader returned to power in January, including clearing the way for implementation of immigration policies.
Earlier in May, San Francisco-based US District Judge Susan Illston had temporarily blocked the large-scale federal layoffs and ruled that President Trump exceeded his power in ordering the government downsizing without prior consultation with the Congress.
The decision by the Supreme Court on Tuesday cleared a major obstacle for the White House which meant that the court wasn’t assessing the legality of any specific layoff plans at federal agencies.
White House spokesperson Harrison Fields welcomed the apex court’s verdict and called it a “definitive victory for the president and his administration”.
(with inputs from Reuters)
