Supreme Court Lets Trump Restart Layoffs Across 22 Agencies, With Jackson Alone in Dissent

On July 8, 2025, the Supreme Court granted the administration's stay application in Trump v. American Federation of Government Employees, suspending U.S. District Judge Susan Illston's May 22 preliminary injunction, which had barred any reductions in force under Executive Order 14210 and a joint OMB-OPM memorandum of February 26, 2025. The unsigned order left the legality of any particular agency plan to be litigated later. Justice Sonia Sotomayor concurred, noting the order directs agencies to plan reorganizations "consistent with applicable law" and that specific plans remained reviewable below. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was the only noted dissenter, writing that the majority had brushed aside district-court factfinding resting on 68 sworn declarations and more than 1,400 pages.

The ruling had immediate practical force: the executive order covered reductions at 22 federal agencies, and the stay lifted the only nationwide constraint on executing them while appeals proceeded. It is a leading example of the emergency docket deciding the effective outcome long before any merits ruling.

On July 14 the administration told Judge Illston the order "effectively ends this case" and moved to dismiss. Reduction-in-force notices resumed within days, including at the State Department.