Trump Admin Submits Emergency Appeal to US Supreme Court Over Mass Layoffs

It argued that a federal judge’s order blocking the the administration’s efforts in 21 agencies should be overturned.

The U.S. Supreme Court in Washington on March 17, 2025. Win McNamee/Getty Images

The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Friday petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to lift a lower court order blocking the Trump administration from carrying out mass layoffs at a number of federal agencies.

The order, issued by U.S. District Judge Susan Illston last week, temporarily halted the administration’s efforts to shrink and reshape the federal government. Illston had directed numerous federal agencies to stop acting on President Donald Trump’s workforce executive order signed in February and subsequent memos issued by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).