Court temporarily blocks unconstitutional reorganization of federal government

A federal judge has ordered a temporary pause on Trump administration’s attempts to fire swaths of workers and unilaterally reorganize the federal government.

The judge’s order comes in response to a lawsuit filed by a national coalition which includes AFSCME and more than 25 other unions, cities and nonprofits. 

The judge found that the coalition’s legal argument—that because these attempts to eliminate jobs and destroy agencies are being done without Congressional approval, the administration had violated the separation of powers principles required by the Constitution—had enough merit to pause the administration’s efforts for two weeks as the lawsuit progresses.

The Trump administration’s unlawful attempt to reorganize the federal government is being spearheaded by billionaire Elon Musk’s DOGE, and has resulted in the firings of tens of thousands of federal employees, thrown agencies into chaos and disrupted critical services provided across the nation.

“Billionaires and anti-union extremists have launched a hostile takeover of government – unlawfully bypassing Congress to shut down and restructure agencies,” said AFSCME President Lee Saunders. “These actions threaten the public services that AFSCME members provide at every level of government.”

“We are pleased that the court issued a decision today to pause these devastating attacks and bring relief to public service workers and our communities as our case moves forward.”