A federal judge in California on Friday temporarily blocked
what at coalition of labor unions, local governments, and nonprofits argued was
“the unconstitutional dismantling of the federal government by the president of the United States on a scale unprecedented in this country’s history and in clear excess of his authority.”
Since returning to office in January, Donald Trump
— aided by his so-callled Department of Government Efficiency and its de facto leader, billionaire Elon Musk
— has worked to quickly overhaul the bureaucracy,
even though “the president does not possess authority to reorganize, downsize, or otherwise transform the agencies of the federal government, unless and until Congress authorizes such action,”
as the coalition’s complaint notes.
District Judge Susan Illston agreed with the groups and governments,
which include the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Alliance for Retired Americans, Main Street Alliance, Natural Resources Defense Council, the city and county of San Francisco, Chicago, Baltimore, and more.