Twenty-one states are urging a district court judge not to undermine the executive branch’s authority by intervening in decisions about the federal workforce, according to an amicus brief shared with the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Labor unions, local governments and nonprofits, backed by the left-wing group Democracy Forward, sued April 28 to block over 20 agencies from reducing their workforces, a process President Donald Trump initiated through a February executive order.
The states, led by Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen, asserted an interest in the case because the plaintiffs “seek to turn the separation of powers on its head and diminish the President’s authority under Article II of the Constitution.” They urged Clinton-appointed Judge Susan Illston, who is overseeing the case, to deny the request.
