On May 9, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California granted a temporary restraining order to halt the implementation of Executive Order 14210 (“Implementing the President’s ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ Workforce Optimization Initiative”), which directed large-scale reductions in the federal workforce. The plaintiffs — a collection of unions, non-profit organizations, and city and local governments — sued the Trump administration alleging that the executive order and the plans for implementation submitted by various federal agencies violated the separation of powers and the APA.

The court held that President Trump exceeded his authority by attempting to implement the reductions without congressional involvement. The court’s decision emphasized that while the executive branch can pursue new policy priorities, large-scale overhauls of federal agencies require Congressional assistance.