The judge said the case would continue to allow for a reasoned explication of the merits and because of the broad scope of the EO. Image: Chris Allan / Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffA federal judge has rejected the Trump administration’s request to dismiss a suit by the AFGE union and a number of other groups against an executive order and other Trump administration policies for widescale RIFs and reorganizations at federal agencies.
The decision by District Judge Susan Illston of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California is the latest in a long line of developments in the case, which claims that those actions violate laws enacted by Congress and the Administrative Procedure Act. The suit also argues that implementing directives from OPM, OMB and DOGE exceeded their authority.
An injunction she initially issued later was stayed by the U.S. Supreme Court. That returned the case to Judge Illston’s court, where the Justice Department moved for a dismissal, citing the high court’s statement that the government is likely to succeed in arguing that the order and guidance are lawful.
However, Judge Illston noted that the high court’s action was based on a finding that some of the plaintiffs lacked legal standing to bring the suit, and that neither the injunction nor the Supreme Court addressed the Administrative Procedure Act claims.
“Simply put, a stay of a preliminary injunction based on the “likely” legality of the Executive Order and OMB/OPM Memorandum, without reasoning, cannot be interpreted as a dispositive ruling on the merits. A reasoned explication of the merits is particularly important in light of the broad scope of the Executive Order at issue here,” she wrote.
“Whether or not plaintiffs will be able to prove what they allege is a question for another day,” she added.
Said the AFGE, “The upshot of Illston’s decision is that the case will continue onto the next stage of litigation on the claims that the Supreme Court stayed and on claims that are not impacted by the Supreme Court’s stay.”
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