The Trump administration petitioned the Supreme Court on Monday to block a lower court order mandating the reinstatement of over 16,000 fired federal workers. The order, issued on March 13 by Clinton-appointed U.S. District Court Judge William Alsup, has been criticized by the administration as an overreach into executive authority.
The administration argues that the ruling allows a single judge to dictate federal personnel management, setting a dangerous precedent. “That is no way to run a government,” acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris wrote in the application. “This Court should stop the ongoing assault on the constitutional structure before further damage is wrought.”
The case is further complicated by the fact that the lawsuit was brought by nonprofit organizations rather than the affected employees themselves. The administration contends that the ruling improperly permits third parties to interfere in federal employment matters.
This petition follows similar arguments the administration has made against nationwide injunctions, including those blocking Trump’s executive order on birthright citizenship. Chief Justice John Roberts has requested a response to the administration’s petition by April 4.
The administration’s filing warned of chaos resulting from such judicial actions. “Emboldened by the lack of prompt appellate review (often occasioned by the use of the TRO mechanism), district courts have now issued dozens of orders without sufficient regard for limits on their own jurisdiction,” the petition states. It further argues that these rulings have forced the executive branch into immediate compliance measures, including reinstating thousands of terminated workers and restructuring agencies.
“Only this Court can end the interbranch power grab,” the administration asserted, urging the Supreme Court to intervene.
The Supreme Court previously declined on March 5 to block another district court’s ruling requiring the administration to pay $2 billion in foreign aid. Justice Samuel Alito, in a dissent joined by Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, and Brett Kavanaugh, criticized the decision, stating he was “stunned” by the Court’s refusal to act.
“A federal court has many tools to address a party’s supposed nonfeasance,” Alito wrote. “Self-aggrandizement of its jurisdiction is not one of them.”
