A divided Ninth Circuit panel declined to push the pause button
on a San Francisco-based district court's nationwide
injunction blocking the government from carrying out President
Trump's executive order aimed to reign in the size of the
federal government through large-scale reductions in its workforce,
with special focus on those federal agency “offices that
perform functions not mandated by statute or other law.” A
coalition of unions, nonprofits, and local governments brought the
lawsuit to challenge the president's authority to reorganize
the agencies, absent congressional approval. Undeterred, the
government promptly applied to the Supreme Court to freeze the
injunction while its appeal before the Ninth Circuit moves forward.
In arguing for the emergency relief, Solicitor General D. John
Sauer called the district court's order “flawed”
and resting on an “indefensible premise” that the
president needs authorization from Congress to oversee personnel
decisions
