A US federal appeals court blocked President Donald Trump’s attempt to implement widespread layoffs across federal agencies, ruling that the executive order authorising the cuts exceeds the president’s constitutional authority, CNN reported.
In a 2-1 decision, the US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court injunction that halted the layoffs officially termed reductions in force (RIFs) which had been on hold since May 9.
The court found that Trump lacked the necessary congressional approval to carry out such broad personnel changes.
Senior Circuit Judge William Fletcher, writing for the majority, stated that the executive order “far exceeds the President’s supervisory powers” and emphasised that “the kind of reorganisation contemplated by the order has long been subject to Congressional approval”.
Elon Musk concludes his tenure as a special government employee under President Donald Trump, departing after public criticism of the administration's major spending bill and amid ongoing legal scrutiny of his controversial cost-cutting efforts.
Court blocks layoffs
The lawsuit, brought by a coalition of federal employees and labour groups, challenged the administration’s efforts to restructure nearly every Cabinet-level department, including the departments of Defense, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Justice, Interior, Labor, State and Treasury.
The coalition praised the court’s decision, calling it “a victory in our efforts to pause these harmful actions while our case moves forward”.
In response, White House spokesman Harrison Fields criticised the ruling, saying, “A single judge is attempting to unconstitutionally seize the power of hiring and firing from the Executive Branch.” He pledged that the administration would continue its legal fight.
The ruling follows an earlier decision by US District Judge Susan Illston, who also found that Trump lacked the authority to carry out mass layoffs without legislative backing.
The Trump administration had appealed to the 9th Circuit after the district court’s injunction, and earlier sought intervention from the Supreme Court, which declined to take up the case.
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