Twenty-one states are urging a district court judge not to undermine the executive branch’s authority by intervening in decisions about the federal workforce, according to an amicus brief shared with the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Labor unions, local governments and nonprofits, backed by the left-wing group Democracy Forward, sued April 28 to block over 20 agencies from reducing their workforces, a process President Donald Trump initiated through a February executive order.
The states, led by Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen, asserted an interest in the case because the plaintiffs “seek to turn the separation of powers on its head and diminish the President’s authority under Article II of the Constitution.” They urged Clinton-appointed Judge Susan Illston, who is overseeing the case, to deny the request.
“Plaintiffs invite this court to begin micromanaging the personnel decisions of virtually the entire federal government, from the Department of Defense and Department of State to the EPA and Social Security Administration,” the states wrote in an amicus brief. “This sweeping request may be more extreme than any currently pending case.”
Trump issued his executive order to commence “a critical transformation of the Federal bureaucracy.”
“By eliminating waste, bloat, and insularity, my Administration will empower American families, workers, taxpayers, and our system of Government itself,” the February 11 order states.
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Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen by Katelynn Richardson
The Civil Service Reform Act (CSRA) governs challenges to employment decisions, allowing workers to bring claims to the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) and appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the states argue. Congress’ “careful and comprehensive scheme” outlined in the CSRA is “well-settled law,” they wrote.
“Plaintiffs seek to undermine the President’s Article II authority by injecting this Court into federal workforce decisions made by President Trump and his cabinet,” they continue. “The Court can avoid infringing the separation of powers by leaving federal workforce management to the President and his cabinet.”
Knudsen told the DCNF that “the Constitution and two centuries of precedent give President Trump the authority to manage the federal workforce as he sees fit.”
“I applaud President Trump for cutting wasteful spending as he fulfills the mandate Americans gave him in November to improve government efficiency,” he said. “I urge the court to deny the plaintiffs’ request for a temporary restraining order. If the court ties his hands, he will not have the ability to effectively govern our great nation.”
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