A controversial push by the Trump administration to slash the size of the federal workforce has hit another legal roadblock. On Friday, a panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals declined to lift a California judge’s injunction, keeping the sweeping cuts championed by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) on hold.
The 2–1 decision maintains a temporary freeze on President Donald Trump’s February executive order directing mass workforce reductions across federal agencies. The panel agreed with U.S. District Judge Susan Illston’s earlier concerns that the downsizing effort could cause widespread disruption to essential public services, including food safety inspections and veterans’ healthcare.
One judge dissented, arguing that Trump likely possesses the executive authority to reorganize the federal bureaucracy and that individual employees already have legal avenues to challenge dismissals, AP reported.
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The administration had sought an emergency stay, aiming to fast-track its overhaul strategy while legal challenges, brought by labor unions, advocacy group Democracy Forward, and several cities including San Francisco and Chicago work their way through the courts.
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Illston, a Clinton appointee, ruled that while presidents do have the ability to initiate structural reforms, they must work in tandem with Congress for large-scale changes to be lawful. Her injunction also halts the implementation of a follow-up memo issued jointly by DOGE and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), which laid out internal procedures for agency-level compliance.
The Justice Department has appealed the matter to the U.S. Supreme Court, continuing a broader campaign to push back against what it calls judicial interference with executive authority.
Under Trump’s workforce reform order, part of a broader government overhaul led by billionaire Elon Musk via DOGE, tens of thousands of federal employees have either been terminated, placed on leave, or accepted deferred resignation offers. While exact numbers remain elusive, reports indicate that at least 75,000 federal workers have opted into resignation programs, and thousands more on probationary terms have been dismissed.
Trump has consistently argued that his election victory granted him a clear mandate to streamline federal operations and “drain the swamp.” However, with courts stepping in and legal uncertainties mounting, his administration’s most ambitious personnel shake-up remains in legal limbo.
