US Supreme Court Rules President Donald Trump Can Fire Federal Bureaucrats

On July 8, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court gave the green light to President Donald Trump’s administration to move forward with plans to significantly reduce the federal workforce. This decision overturns a lower court’s block on the administration’s efforts, potentially affecting tens of thousands of federal bureaucrats across various agencies. While the ruling marks a victory for Trump’s push to streamline government operations, it has sparked concerns from some about the impact on public services.

A Landmark Decision for Federal Downsizing

The Supreme Court’s unsigned opinion lifted a temporary injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Susan Illston in San Francisco, which had halted Trump’s February 2025 executive order. The order directed federal agencies to collaborate with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), previously led by billionaire Elon Musk, to implement “large-scale reductions in force” (RIFs). The Supreme Court’s majority, including liberal Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan alongside their conservative colleagues, concluded that “the Government is likely to succeed on its argument that the Executive Order and Memorandum are lawful.”

However, the justices emphasized that they were not ruling on the legality of specific layoff plans, leaving room for future legal challenges. Justice Sotomayor clarified, “The (specific) plans themselves are not before this Court, at this stage, and we thus have no occasion to consider whether they can and will be carried out consistent with the constraints of law."

Only One Justice Dissented 

Liberal Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson stood alone in her dissent, sharply criticizing the decision as “the wrong decision at the wrong moment, especially given what little this Court knows about what is actually happening on the ground.” She warned that the executive action could lead to “mass employee terminations, widespread cancellation of federal programs and services, and the dismantling of much of the Federal Government as Congress has created it.” Jackson argued that the lower court’s temporary pause was a reasonable measure to assess the broader implications, and the Supreme Court’s intervention was premature and “hubristic.”

The Road to the Ruling

The controversy began when Trump issued his executive order on February 11, 2025, instructing federal agencies to prepare for significant workforce reductions. The initiative, driven by DOGE, aimed to cut costs and eliminate what the administration deemed wasteful spending. Agencies such as the Departments of State, Treasury, Health and Human Services, and the Environmental Protection Agency were among those targeted, with potential layoffs estimated to affect tens of thousands of bureaucrats.