Trump’s plan to curtail federal agencies troubles First Circuit

The First Circuit heard arguments Wednesday over Trump's executive order that stripped operations at four federal agencies, including the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, down to almost nothing, with judges skeptical of the government's claim that mass firings and shuttered grants don't add up to a reviewable policy.

A Rhode Island federal judge previously found the cutbacks arbitrary and capricious, ordering reinstatement of fired employees and paused grants. On appeal, the Justice Department argued individual firings and grant cancellations were just ‘a lot of individual things happening,’ not a formal policy subject to challenge under the Administrative Procedure Act.

Judges pushed back hard: Judge Julie Rikelman noted two agencies now have zero employees and another has 15, calling them ‘functionally closed’ regardless of paperwork. The panel also seemed skeptical of a state coalition's request to bar the administration from ever trying a narrower version of the cuts, suggesting a remand to clarify the injunction may be the likely outcome.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.