WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump’s administration must temporarily halt its sweeping government overhaul because Congress did not authorise it to carry out large-scale staffing cuts and the restructuring of agencies, a federal judge ruled on Friday.

District Judge Susan Illston in San Francisco sided with a group of unions, non-profits and local governments, and blocked large-scale mass layoffs known as “reductions in force” for 14 days.

“As history demonstrates, the President may broadly restructure federal agencies only when authorised by Congress,” said Illston.

The ruling is the broadest of its kind against the government overhaul that has been led by Elon Musk, the world’s richest person who is also CEO of electric vehicle maker Tesla. Dozens of lawsuits have challenged the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) work on various grounds, including violating privacy laws and exceeding its authority, with mixed results.

Trump directed government agencies in February to work with the Department of Government Efficiency to identify targets for mass layoffs as part of the administration’s restructuring plans.

Trump urged agencies to eliminate duplicative roles, unnecessary management layers, and non-critical jobs, while automating routine tasks, closing regional field offices and reducing the use of outside contractors.

“The Trump administration’s unlawful attempt to reorganise the federal government has thrown agencies into chaos, disrupting critical services provided across our nation,” said a statement from the coalition of plaintiffs.

“Each of us represents communities deeply invested in the efficiency of the federal government laying off federal employees and reorganising government functions haphazardly does not achieve that.”

Illston scheduled a hearing for May 22 to consider a longer-lasting preliminary injunction.

She said that the plaintiffs are likely to succeed on merits of some of their claims in their lawsuit, which was filed on April 28 and alleged Trump exceeded his authority. It also alleged the Office of Management and Budget, DOGE and Office of Personnel Management exceeded their authority and violated administrative law.

Published in Dawn, May 11th, 2025