A coalition of local governments from across the country, along with labor unions and other groups, are suing the Trump administration to challenge cuts made by the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and other agencies.
On Monday, the group led by the San Francisco and Santa Clara County, California filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court – Northern District of California. Other municipalities that have joined the suit include Chicago and Baltimore, along with Harris County, Texas, which is home to Houston and King County, Washington, which is home to Seattle.
The lawsuit accuses the Trump administration, DOGE, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) of unlawfully ordering the restructuring and mass termination of federal employees without authorization from Congress, which they said violates the separation of powers in the U.S. Constitution.
“The President cannot radically restructure federal agencies through massive layoffs with a mere signature on an executive order. Only Congress has the power to reorganize federal agencies as Trump wishes,” San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu said in a statement. “The Constitution’s separation of powers was intended to prevent the abuse of presidential authority, yet here Trump is ignoring checks and balances and trying to act as both President and Congress.”
The plaintiffs are seeking to stop the implementation of Executive Order 14210, which they said has resulted in cuts to multiple agencies. Officials said the order is leading to the elimination of 10,000 positions at the Department of Health and Human Services.
Other agencies that are significantly downsizing include the Small Business Administration (43%), the Department of Housing and Urban Development (51%), the Environmental Protection Agency (65%), the Department of Energy (43%) and the Internal Revenue Service (40%).
Officials in Chicago said the cuts are already impacting essential city services such as emergency preparedness, disaster response and public health.
“I am proud that Chicago is taking this stand with cities, counties, and workers from across the country,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said in a statement. “The Trump Administration’s plan to gut the federal government threatens our way of life and would significantly impact our ability to keep residents and communities safe and healthy. We cannot abide by that.
Santa Clara County Counsel Tony LoPresti said the cuts are impacting his county, which is home to San Jose and the Silicon Valley, in multiple ways.
“These actions hit home right here in the Bay Area by making it harder for local governments to respond to emergencies like wildfires and earthquakes, reducing resources to combat homelessness, eliminating public health programs that help prevent the spread of disease, and undermining vital collaboration between local and federal government in dozens of other operational areas,” LoPresti said.
Both Santa Clara County and San Francisco have joined forces in another lawsuit against the Trump administration over policies targeting sanctuary cities. Last week, a federal judge in San Francisco issued a preliminary injunction in that case.
Along with the municipalities filing suit over the cuts, several unions have joined the lawsuit, including the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).
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Tim Fang
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