JUST IN: Supreme Court Sides With Trump In 8-1 Ruling

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday sided with President Donald Trump in an 8-1 ruling that will have far-reaching impacts on the president’s ability to staff the executive branch as he see’s fit.

The justices in the majority overrode a lower court ruling that placed a temporary freeze on federal workforce cuts, many of which have been recommended by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).  In an unsigned order, the court noted that no specific cuts were presented to justices only an executive order issued by Trump and an administration directive for agencies to trim workforces.

In May, U.S. District Judge Susan Illston found that the Trump Administration needs congressional approval in order to make sizable cuts to the federal workforce. The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals later refused to block the judge’s order in a 2-1 vote, arguing that downsizing could have far-reaching effects on a number of key sectors in a decision that was criticized for being heavy on ideology rather than legal precedent.

Illston’s decision ordered a number of federal agencies to halt the president’s executive order on downsizing federal workforces, which was signed back in February, as well as a separate memo issued by DOGE and the Office of Personnel Management. Illston was nominated by former President Bill Clinton.

Workforce reductions were planned at the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Health and Human Services, State, Treasury, Veterans Affairs and more than a dozen other agencies.

In Tuesday’s unsigned order, the high court’s majority ruled that the Trump Administration was “likely to succeed on its argument that the executive order” and a memorandum implementing his order were lawful. The court further noted that it was not ruling on any specific plans for layoffs at federal agencies.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was the lone dissenting voice, accusing her colleagues of a “demonstrated enthusiasm for greenlighting this President’s legally dubious actions in an emergency posture.”

“This executive action promises mass employee terminations, widespread cancellation of federal programs and services, and the dismantling of much of the Federal Government as Congress has created it,” the Biden-appointed justice wrote.

Tuesday’s decision marks the continuation of a massive winning streak for the Trump Administration before the Supreme Court. The latest ruling comes just over a week after the Trump Administration notched its most significant legal victory of the president’s second term, when the high court significantly curtailed the ability of federal district judges to issue nationwide injunctions against the president’s policies and orders.

That ruling preceded a major immigration decision last week, which will allow the federal government to deport illegal aliens with serious criminal records to third countries, such as El Salvador or South Sudan.