Federal Judge Halts Trump and Musk's Illegal Overhaul of US Government

[cbabe]

https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-musk

Federal Judge Halts Trump and Musk's Illegal Overhaul of US Government

The second Trump administration "has thrown agencies into chaos, disrupting critical services provided across our nation," the coalition behind the lawsuit said, welcoming the temporary restraining order.

JESSICA CORBETT
May 10, 2025

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, U.S. President 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.

"The president has the authority to seek changes to executive branch agencies, but he must do so in lawful ways and, in the case of large-scale reorganizations, with the cooperation of the legislative branch," wrote Illston in a 42-page decision. "Many presidents have sought this cooperation before; many iterations of Congress have provided it. Nothing prevents the president from requesting this cooperation—as he did in his prior term of office."

"Indeed, the court holds the president likely must request congressional cooperation to order the changes he seeks, and thus issues a temporary restraining order to pause large-scale reductions in force in the meantime," said the judge, appointed to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California by former President Bill Clinton.

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[malaise]

1. Get thee to the greatest page

RFN

[cbabe]

2. How?

[malaise]

3. Rest of us

Not you😀
See😂

[cbabe]

5. Ah. Like votes for Pedro. Cheers!

[Easterncedar]

4. Kick for hope!

[dchill]

6. "...in clear excess of his authority."

DUH! It sure took awhile for a federal judge to say it that plainly.

[malaise]

7. That is mild

In violation of his power is way more accurate

[dchill]

8. Trump lives his life in a state of violation. It comes naturally.

[peacebuzzard]

9. He can carry the House and the Senate vote in a simply majority. So he has Congress, right?

I can't believe he carries all those votes, but he does; we have a single-minded MAGA Congress. Even the Supremes are generally so far going along with it.
To the rest of the world watching, we are all idiots.
Please tell me I am wrong.

(I just can't bear the daily suffering so I tune out as much as I can, getting updates here and there, mainly here.)

[drray23]

10. most of what he needs to do would not pass the senate.

With the filibuster he would need 60 votes.

[peacebuzzard]

12. thanks. it may come to that except tfg probably doesn't want another defeat.

it is exhausting thinking of all the angles to this tug of war between hanging on to democracy by a thread and full-blown dictatorship.
hanging on with tooth and nail and clutching claws.

[malaise]

11. The fascists are appealing

Discussion on M$NBComcast now

[UTUSN]

13. Another one of those Temporary deals

[Meowmee]

14. What's next? An appeal?

And how to undo the damage they have done?

[malaise]

15. Yes

This is HUGE

[OverBurn]

16. Will it matter? they just continue to ignore and do what they want.

[Hornedfrog2000]

17. I think it means

Judge aimlessly flails that someone should do something. Its like me declaring the shit he is doing is illegal. It carries about the same amount of weight. Let me know when someone with power does something.