Federal judge blocks Trump administration from moving Forest Service headquarters to Utah

A federal judge in California blocked, for now, the Trump administration's plan to relocate the U.S. Forest Service's headquarters from Washington to Salt Lake City, ruling Congress had specifically restricted USDA's ability to reorganize without its approval. Judge Vince Chhabria wrote the agency has almost certainly been violating those restrictions already.

USDA announced the move in March as part of a sweeping restructuring that would also close nearly two dozen research facilities, with Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins calling it common sense positioning. Utah Governor Spencer Cox called it a big win for Utah and the West, and after the ruling, Cox and GOP legislative leaders called the decision a setback for common sense.

USDA told the court it expected to relocate about 250 employees, not the thousands plaintiffs alleged, but the judge said the number didn't matter since it exceeded the 10-staff threshold defining reprogramming. Congress, the lawsuit noted, had not merely declined to fund the reorganization but explicitly barred it without further approval, a point the judge agreed with. The relief may be short-lived regardless, since the relevant appropriations restrictions expire within two months.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.