Latest news with #governmentreorganization
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Chicago mayor praises court order blocking Trump's federal job cuts
The Brief A federal judge has temporarily stopped the Trump administration from firing federal workers as part of a controversial government reorganization plan. The ruling follows a lawsuit filed by a coalition that includes the City of Chicago, several counties, unions, and nonprofit groups. Mayor Brandon Johnson said the decision helps protect public services and workers, calling the Trump plan "chaos and division." CHICAGO - The Trump administration must halt much of its dramatic downsizing of the federal workforce, a California judge ordered Friday. What we know Judge Susan Illston in San Francisco issued the emergency order in a lawsuit filed last week by labor unions and cities, one of multiple legal challenges to Republican President Donald Trump's efforts to shrink the size of a federal government he calls bloated and expensive. "The Court holds the President likely must request Congressional cooperation to order the changes he seeks, and thus issues a temporary restraining order to pause large-scale reductions in force in the meantime," Illston wrote in her order. The temporary restraining order directs numerous federal agencies to halt acting on the president's workforce executive order signed in February and a subsequent memo issued by the Department of Government Efficiency and the Office of Personnel Management. The order, which expires in 14 days, does not require departments to rehire people. Plaintiffs asked that the effective date of any agency action be postponed and that departments stop implementing or enforcing the executive order, including taking any further action. They limited their request to departments where dismantlement is already underway or poised to be underway, including at the the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which announced in March it will lay off 10,000 workers and centralize divisions. Dig deeper Illston, who was nominated to the bench by former President Bill Clinton, a Democrat, said at a hearing Friday the president has authority to seek changes in the executive branch departments and agencies created by Congress. "But he must do so in lawful ways," she said. "He must do so with the cooperation of Congress, the Constitution is structured that way." Trump has repeatedly said voters gave him a mandate to remake the federal government, and he tapped billionaire Elon Musk to lead the charge through DOGE. Tens of thousands of federal workers have been fired, left their jobs via deferred resignation programs or have been placed on leave as a result of Trump's government-shrinking efforts. There is no official figure for the job cuts, but at least 75,000 federal employees took deferred resignation, and thousands of probationary workers have already been let go. In her order, Illston gave several examples to show the impact of the downsizing. One union that represents federal workers who research health hazards faced by mineworkers said it was poised to lose 221 of 222 workers in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, office; a Vermont farmer didn't receive a timely inspection on his property to receive disaster aid after flooding and missed an important planting window; a reduction in Social Security Administration workers has led to longer wait times for recipients. All the agencies impacted were created by Congress, she noted. Lawyers for the government argued Friday that the executive order and memo calling for large-scale personnel reductions and reorganization plans provided only general principles that agencies should follow in exercising their own decision-making process. "It expressly invites comments and proposals for legislative engagement as part of policies that those agencies wish to implement," Eric Hamilton, a deputy assistant attorney general, said of the memo. "It is setting out guidance." But Danielle Leonard, an attorney for plaintiffs, said it was clear that the president, DOGE and OPM were making decisions outside of their authority and not inviting dialogue from agencies. "They are not waiting for these planning documents" to go through long processes, she said. "They're not asking for approval, and they're not waiting for it." The temporary restraining order applies to departments including the departments of Agriculture, Energy, Labor, Interior, State, Treasury and Veterans Affairs. It also applies to the National Science Foundation, Small Business Association, Social Security Administration and Environmental Protection Agency. Some of the labor unions and nonprofit groups are also plaintiffs in another lawsuit before a San Francisco judge challenging the mass firings of probationary workers. In that case, Judge William Alsup ordered the government in March to reinstate those workers, but the U.S. Supreme Court later blocked his order. Plaintiffs include the cities of San Francisco, Chicago and Baltimore; labor group American Federation of Government Employees; and nonprofit groups Alliance for Retired Americans, Center for Taxpayer Rights and Coalition to Protect America's National Parks. Local perspective The City of Chicago joined the lawsuit, arguing the Trump administration's moves to "dismantle, downsize, or otherwise transform federal agencies without Congressional approval" were unlawful and would jeopardize essential services. Chicago officials say the cuts would affect local operations in weather and emergency preparedness, disaster response, environmental protection, and public health. Among the concerns: Loss of real-time weather data from the National Weather Service could affect planning for large events like Lollapalooza and NASCAR Chicago. FEMA cuts could weaken the city's ability to respond to major disasters, like severe weather. Fewer EPA staff could impact the city's ability to handle contaminated sites like brownfields, which are sites that used to house industrial or commercial properties suspected of containing hazardous substances, according to the University of Illinois at Chicago. Public health cuts could hamper the city's disease response and access to national data. What they're saying Mayor Brandon Johnson welcomed the court's decision in a statement on Saturday. "We are pleased with the U.S. District Court's ruling, temporarily restraining President Trump's administration from reorganizing our government in a way that sows chaos and division. Today and every day, Chicago stands with working people. We will continue to push back against the federal government's policies that harm our people. I am grateful to the cities and labor unions across the nation that took this stand and filed suit with Chicago; our continued unity is going to be vital as we work to preserve our democracy and invest in our communities." The Source The information in this article came from the Associated Press, a statement provided by the Chicago mayor's office, and previous FOX 32 reporting.
CNN
10-05-2025
- Business
- CNN
Judge halts drastic cuts to agencies being done under Trump executive order
Source: CNN A federal judge is halting the Trump administration from carrying out, under a February executive order, mass firings or major reorganizations of multiple agencies going forward. Senior District Judge Susan Illston on Friday evening granted a temporary restraining order sought by federal employee unions, local governments and outside organizations that rely on federal services, who argued the administration was acting outside the bounds of the law. The judge's order, which lasts two weeks, blocks the administration's approval or implementation of plans –- known as Agency RIF and Reorganization Plans, or ARRPs – for conducting mass layoffs and for shrinking or eliminating entire components of an agency. She is also pausing any orders from the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, cutting programs or staff in accordance with Trump's executive order and the related directives. Illston, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton who sits in San Francisco, said at a hearing earlier in the day that presidents have authority to make changes to the government, but when it comes to large scale reorganizations, presidents 'must do so with the cooperation of Congress. The unions targeted specifically the role that DOGE was playing in the process, writing in court filings that the Elon Musk-led initiative was acting 'largely in secret' to force cuts to agency spending and personnel by 'refusing to reveal' the plans 'to employees, their labor representatives, the public, or Congress.' The Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Personnel Management – two agencies that have been central to DOGE's mission – issued a joint directive that agencies submit the reduction and reorganization plans in two stages, due in mid-March and mid-April, with OMB giving final approval of the layoff plans, according to court filings. Illston's order is among the most sweeping legal setbacks Trump and DOGE have faced in their efforts to drastically winnow down the federal bureaucracy. Across the federal government, the administration has been in the process of carrying out RIFS – or reductions in force – that would terminate tens of thousands of employees and shutter entire agency offices, with little regard for how the layoffs would impact an agency's ability to meet its statutory obligations. The case before Illston could soon head to the Supreme Court, as the Justice Department indicated that it would like to appeal it quickly – though the judge denied a DOJ attorney's request for a procedural maneuver that would make it easier for the administration to appeal her order immediately. In a 42-page opinion Friday night, Illston said, 'No statute gives OPM, OMB, or DOGE the authority to direct other federal agencies to engage in large-scale terminations, restructuring, or elimination of itself.' While she will take a closer look at the merits of the lawsuit in the coming weeks, she found 'it necessary to temporarily enjoin further implementation of those plans because they flow from likely illegal directives.' The order covers major reductions at more than a dozen agencies, including the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Energy, Labor, Treasury, State, Health and Human Services, Veterans Affairs and the Environmental Protection Agency. It additionally requires the administration to turn over by Tuesday the reduction plans, and to inform the judge by Tuesday about its efforts to carry out her order. In a statement, the challengers said they were 'gratified by the court's decision today to pause these harmful actions while our case proceeds.' 'With every move this President is making, we are holding him accountable in court, and seeing judges of all stripes recognize and defend the rule of law,' said Skye Perryman, the president and CEO of Democracy Forward, which is representing the challengers. CNN has reached out to the White House for comment. DOJ attorney Eric Hamilton argued Friday that the unions' case suffered from a number of procedural defects, including a delay in bringing it, given that the executive order in question was signed on February 11. He argued that courts did not have the power to oversee challenges to the reduction plans because they were part of deliberative process and not a final agency action. Danielle Leonard, an attorney for plaintiffs, countered that any delay was the administration's fault for refusing to be forthcoming with its plans and argued that that the administration was 'trying to insulate from judicial review' a 'pretty profoundly unlawful set of instructions.' The judge raised that some senators had asked the administration to produce its layoff plans. She asked the Justice Department if the administration had responded to that request. Hamilton refused to answer, arguing it was irrelevant to the case. This story has been updated with additional details. See Full Web Article
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Judge temporarily blocks Trump administration from laying off federal employees
A federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked President Donald Trump's executive order that enabled the administration to fire tens of thousands of federal workers and to eliminate certain agencies entirely. The ruling puts on hold the White House's plans to implement government-wide layoffs, including expected staff cuts at the departments of State, Treasury, Transportation, Veterans Affairs and the Social Security Administration. Senior U.S. District Judge Susan Illston said in her order federal laws give the president broad power to reorganize the government, including to order mass layoffs. But she added the White House must also follow a set of rigorous legal and procedural requirements. 'The President has the authority to seek changes to executive branch agencies, but he must do so in lawful ways and, in the case of large-scale reorganizations, with the cooperation of the legislative branch,' Illston, a Clinton appointee, said. Spokespeople for the White House and the Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for noted Trump attempted some broad-scale government reorganization efforts in 2017, during his first presidency — but he had also urged Congress to pass accompanying legislation. 'Nothing prevents the President from requesting this cooperation — as he did in his prior term of office,' the judge indicated during a hearing earlier Friday in San Francisco she was inclined to issue a temporary restraining order against Trump's February executive order, which required 'large-scale reductions in force' across the government. Illston's order blocks any new reduction-in-force notifications by the Office of Personnel Management and Office of Management and Budget until May 23, as well as the execution of any existing ones. The judge noted some layoffs were scheduled to begin in less than two weeks at some agencies.
