The Trump administration on Monday asked the Supreme Court to immediately intervene and allow them to proceed with plans to slash the size of the federal workforce, arguing in an emergency appeal that the district court's decision had inflicted "ongoing and severe harm" on the executive branch.
In its emergency appeal to the high court, U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer argued that the lower court ruling is "flawed," and hinges on an "indefensible premise," which is that the executive brach needs Congressional authorization to make personnel decisions, such as the Reductions in Force, or RIFs.
The district court order in question had barred the Trump administration from carrying out its large-scale, planned reductions in force across 21 federal agencies, and prevented the Trump administration from taking other, related actions – such as placing federal employees at those agencies on leave, or proceeding with job cuts that had already been in motion under previous RIFs.
