US Supreme Court delivers another victory for Donald Trump as top court begins to stir

The decision, issued 7-2, overturned a ruling by US District Judge William Alsup.

PUBLISHED APR 9, 2025

he case involved workers from six federal agencies — the Pentagon, Treasury, and the Departments of Energy, Agriculture, Interior, and Veterans Affairs.

Washington D.C.: The US Supreme Court has started weighing in on the slew of injunctions passed down against the Donald Trump administration by liberal activist judges, and it's 2 and 0 for the president.

SCOTUS has granted the Trump administration a partial victory by blocking a lower court’s order requiring the rehiring of 16,000 probationary federal workers dismissed in a bureaucratic purge. The decision, issued 7-2, overturned a ruling by US District Judge William Alsup, who had sided with nonprofit groups suing on behalf of the fired employees. The Court found that these groups lacked legal standing to challenge the dismissals.

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The case involved workers from six federal agencies — the Pentagon, Treasury, and the Departments of Energy, Agriculture, Interior, and Veterans Affairs — who were terminated via a standardized email citing performance issues. Judge Alsup had condemned the firings as unjust, stating employees were dismissed under false pretenses. However, the Supreme Court’s unsigned opinion emphasized that the nonprofits’ claims were insufficient to justify reinstatement, leaving the broader legality of the terminations unresolved.

Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented. The ruling does not affect a separate Maryland federal court order mandating the rehiring of workers across additional agencies.

Acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris had argued that Alsup’s order violated separation of powers, calling it an overreach into executive authority. While the administration’s win is limited, it signals the Supreme Court’s reluctance to interfere with federal employment decisions, bolstering Trump’s broader efforts to reshape the bureaucracy. The case highlights tensions between workforce protections and presidential power, with further litigation likely.