Supreme Court Allows Trump Administration to Resume Plans for HHS Reorganization

The Trump administration is closer to implementing its sweeping plans to reorganize federal health agencies after the United States Supreme Court issued a temporary stay of a district court injunction on Tuesday.

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued a preliminary injunction on May 22 that blocked implementation of Executive Order No. 14210 and related memoranda from the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Personnel Management. In the order, U.S. District Judge Susan Illston wrote that “Agencies may not conduct large-scale reorganizations and reductions in force in blatant disregard of Congress’s mandates.”

In granting the stay, the Supreme Court found the government is “likely to succeed in its argument that the executive order and memorandum are lawful.” The unsigned order emphasized that the justices were not ruling on the legality of any agency’s reduction in force or reorganization plan created under the executive order, which were not directly before the court. The stay will remain in effect while the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals considers the case.

Meanwhile, a separate preliminary injunction issued July 1 by a federal judge in Rhode Island continues to block implementation of the reorganization within certain Department of Health and Human Services agencies. That case was not before the Supreme Court and remains active. AABB will continue to update the community about litigation or policy changes that impact HHS.