Trump admin asks Supreme Court to block reinstatement of fired probationary employees
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(WASHINGTON) — The Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court for an emergency stay of a district court judge’s order that 16,000 terminated federal probationary employees across six agencies and departments be immediately reinstated.
The request is the latest challenge to a nationwide preliminary injunction issued by a federal district court judge in response to Trump’s executive actions reshaping the government.
Acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris argues in the filing that the labor unions and nonprofit groups that challenged the mass firings lack standing, saying they have “hijacked the employment relationship between the federal government and its workforce.”
She claims the judge’s order also violates separation of powers.
“This Court should not allow a single district court to erase Congress’s handiwork and seize control over reviewing federal personnel decisions — much less do so by vastly exceeding the limits on the scope of its equitable authority and ordering reinstatements en masse,” Harris wrote.
Harris said the executive Office of Special Counsel and the Merit Systems Protection Board are the proper venues for plaintiffs challenging their terminations.
The Supreme Court is already weighing the administration’s request for emergency relief in three cases over Trump’s executive order ending Birthright Citizenship.
Disputes over the Alien Enemies Act and over the dissolution of U.S. Agency for International Development and freezing of aid payouts are also likely bound for the high court in the coming weeks and months.
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Social Security Administration on Tuesday distanced himself from some of the actions taken at the agency by officials linked to Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency.
Frank Bisignano, a veteran Wall Street executive and GOP donor tapped to lead the agency delivering $1.5 trillion annually to more than 70 million people, told the Senate Finance Committee when asked about DOGE’s work on agency systems and databases that he will conduct a “total review” of the activities at the SSA if he is confirmed.
He also denied ever having spoken to acting SSA Commissioner Leland Dudek, who is reportedly aligned with Musk’s team efforts, and initially said he has not been a part of any management and policy discussions with the DOGE teams.
Last week, Dudek briefly threatened to shut down the agency after a federal judge blocked DOGE officials from accessing databases, only relenting when the judge issued a clarification saying his understanding of the ruling was “incorrect.”
But under questioning from Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Bisignano admitted he had been in communication with Mike Russo, an agency official now serving as chief information officer, and said they knew each other from the private sector. Russo has been aligned with DOGE’s work and has facilitated its activities at the SSA, according to multiple reports.
“I don’t know him as a DOGE person,” Bisignano said.
On the broad DOGE activities, he said, “I’m happy to work with anybody who can help us, and I am fundamentally about efficiency myself.”
Bisignano, currently the CEO of Fiserv, a financial data and payment company, argued his private sector experience will allow him to improve the quality and speed of the agency’s service to the public.
He called Social Security “the most bipartisan thing we have” and denied that he has “thought about” privatizing the agency.
“It’s not a word that anybody’s ever talked to me about, and I don’t see this institution as anything other than a government agency that gets run for the benefit of the American public,” he told Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I.
Democrats have repeatedly suggested the Trump administration’s actions toward the agency, such as designating field offices for closure, firing staffers and requiring people to show up at a field office to verify their identities, instead of doing so over the phone, are meant to “hollow out” the SSA.
“This approach is a prelude to privatizing Social Security and handing it over to private equity,” Wyden said.
Democrats also challenged Bisignano on Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s comments on a podcast last week in which the billionaire said his mother-in-law wouldn’t care about missing a payment from the agency and that only people committing fraud complain about services.
“I don’t think anyone would appreciate not getting their Social Security check on time,” Bisignano said.
“So they’re not fraudsters?” asked Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev.
“It would be hard to get to that conclusion,” he replied.
Asked if he agreed with Musk’s comments about the program being a “Ponzi scheme,” Bisginano said it is “a promise to pay.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., appeared to extract a commitment from Bisignano to review the firings at the agency.
“When you have a system that is not working now, do you think it’s a great idea to lay off half the employees?” Sanders asked.
“Do I think it’s a great idea to lay off half the employees when the system doesn’t work? I think the answer is probably no,” he replied.
Some Republican senators defended the DOGE actions at the agency, and most said they hope the administration will improve services and protect accessibility for those who want to be served at SSA field offices.
Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., played the SSA’s waiting music from his phone and claimed his staffers were put on hold for hours and disconnected when they tried to test the agency’s 1-800 number on Monday.
“We will meet beneficiaries where they want to be met, whether that’s in person, in an office, online or on the phone,” Bisignano said.
In the past, Bisignano has said he would like to use artificial intelligence to find fraud at the agency, which Musk has claimed is rampant.
According to a 2024 report from the SSA inspector general, less than 1% of payments were improper between 2015 and 2022 and “most” of those were overpayments.
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden on Monday issued preemptive pardons to potential targets of the incoming Trump administration, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, retired Gen. Mark Milley and lawmakers who served on the House Jan. 6 Committee.
“Our nation relies on dedicated, selfless public servants every day. They are the lifeblood of our democracy,” Biden said in a statement just hours before President-elect Donald Trump is sworn into office.
“Yet alarmingly, public servants have been subjected to ongoing threats and intimidation for faithfully discharging their duties,” Biden added.
Trump in his 2024 campaign repeatedly vowed “retribution” on his political enemies, specifically singling out lawmakers like Liz Cheney who investigated the attack on the U.S. Capitol. Trump said Cheney and other committee members should be put in jail.
Milley, who retired as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 2023, has long been a target of Republican attacks over the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan. Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has been a lightning rod for criticism over the federal government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Milley put out a statement shortly after Biden’s announcement.
“My family and I are deeply grateful for the President’s action today,” he said. “After forty-three years of faithful service in uniform to our Nation, protecting and defending the Constitution, I do not wish to spend whatever remaining time the Lord grants me fighting those who unjustly might seek retribution for perceived slights. I do not want to put my family, my friends, and those with whom I served through the resulting distraction, expense, and anxiety.”
“It has been an honor and a privilege to serve our great country in uniform for over four decades, and I will continue to keep faith and loyalty to our nation and Constitution until my dying breath,” Milley added.
Fauci told ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl he accepted the pardon and is grateful for it.
“I really truly appreciate the action President Biden has taken today on my behalf,” Fauci said. “Let me be perfectly clear, Jon, I have committed no crime, you know that, and there are no possible grounds for any allegation or threat of criminal investigation or prosecution of me.”
But Fauci said the threats and possibility of prosecution “creates immeasurable and intolerable distress on me and my family.”
ABC News reported in early December that Biden was considering such an action, days after he issued a full pardon for his son, Hunter Biden. In an exit interview with USA Today earlier this month, Biden signaled he was still wrestling with the decision.
Some Democrats argued against preemptive pardons, including Sen. Adam Schiff, who served on the House Jan. 6 committee.
“The precedent of giving blanket pardons, preemptive blanket pardons on the way out of an administration, I think is a precedent we don’t want to set,” Schiff said on ABC’s “This Week” in December.
But Biden, in his statement on Monday, expressed concern about attempts to rewrite the violence that unfolded at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
“I believe in the rule of law, and I am optimistic that the strength of our legal institutions will ultimately prevail over politics,” Biden said. “But these are exceptional circumstances, and I cannot in good conscience do nothing. Baseless and politically motivated investigations wreak havoc on the lives, safety, and financial security of targeted individuals and their families.”
“That is why I am exercising my authority under the Constitution to pardon General Mark A. Milley, Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the Members of Congress and staff who served on the Select Committee, and the U.S. Capitol and D.C. Metropolitan police officers who testified before the Select Committee,” he said. “The issuance of these pardons should not be mistaken as an acknowledgment that any individual engaged in any wrongdoing, nor should acceptance be misconstrued as an admission of guilt for any offense. Our nation owes these public servants a debt of gratitude for their tireless commitment to our country.”
Harry Dunn, a former Capitol Police officer, said he was “eternally grateful” to Biden for the action but also for his leadership.
“I wish this pardon weren’t necessary, but unfortunately, the political climate we are in now has made the need for one somewhat of a reality. I, like all of the other public servants, was just doing my job and upholding my oath, and I will always honor that,” Dunn said.
ABC News’ Matt Seyler and Pierre Thomas contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — Democratic lawmakers continue to protest tech billionaire Elon Musk’s sweeping influence over government decisions and material, with protests, proposed legislation and other attempts to obstruct President Donald Trump’s agenda and the efforts of his close ally to cut what the Trump administration considers wasteful spending.
Dozens of lawmakers appeared Tuesday at a “Nobody Elected Elon” rally outside the Treasury Department, each delivering fiery attacks directed toward Trump and Musk. They described Musk’s action as a “heist,” a “takeover” and an “abuse of power.”
Rep. Ayanna Pressley went as far as calling Musk a “Nazi nepo baby.”
Democrats have pushed back against Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency’s efforts, mounting growing protests, introducing legislation and threatening to try to derail his agenda by holding up confirmation of his appointees.
Rep. Maxine Waters said, “We have got to tell Elon Musk, ‘Nobody elected your ass. Nobody told you you could get all of our private information. Nobody told you you could be in charge of the payments of this country.’”
Sen. Elizabeth Warren added, “Not one Democrat in America voted for Elon Musk, not one not one Republican in America voted for Elon Musk, not one independent in America voted for Elon Musk, not one libertarian in America voted for Elon Musk, dammit, not one vegetarian in America voted for Elon Musk, and yet, Elon Musk is seizing the power that belongs to the American people.”
Sen. Richard Blumenthal cautioned his Republican colleagues that Musk’s actions could have harmful consequences for their constituents as well.
Sen. Chris Murphy struck a similar tone as his Democratic colleagues, threatening to stall Trump’s nominees from being confirmed should Musk continue his overreach.
“You will remember this is the moment that made a difference for America, because the message here is, we have to reach beyond this crowd, reach beyond this city. Reach beyond Democrats, to Republicans and say you’re losing your country too,” Murphy said.
Pressley reached out to Republicans, too.
“I want to say to our Republican colleagues, pay attention. We’re here today in the hopes that you will see the light. But if you do not see the light, we will bring the fire. Resist,” she said Rep. Pressley.
During multiple times, there were chants of “Lock him up!” from the crowd, which appeared to be directed at Trump and Musk.
Murphy also made a dig at the young staffers reportedly working for DOGE.
“When we open up the Senate every single morning, we don’t pledge allegiance to the billionaires. We don’t. We don’t pledge allegiance to Elon Musk. We don’t pledge allegiance to the creepy 22 year olds working for Elon Musk. We pledge allegiance to the United States of America,” he said to cheers.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said they’re pushing joint legislation that would block ‘unlawful meddling’ in the Treasury Department’s payment systems — responding to news on Monday that Treasury gave Musk and representatives of DOGE access to its vast federal payment system.
At a news conference at the Capitol, the Democratic leaders unveiled the bill as the “Stop the Steal” Act, a play off of Trump’s rallying cry as he sought to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The legislation would deny special government employees and anyone with conflicts of interest or a lack of appropriate clearance any access to the Treasury payment system. It also would include personal tax information into existing privacy protections, according to Schumer.
The White House said Monday that Musk received status as a special government employee, meaning he’s a short-term federal worker who works under looser ethics rules.
Jeffries said the legislation will be introduced “in short order” to prevent “unlawful access with respect to the Department of Treasury’s payment system connected to people who are trying to steal personal, sensitive and confidential information related to Social Security recipients, Medicare recipients, taxpayers, businesses, not-for-profits, veterans and everyday Americans.”
“It is unacceptable, unconscionable and unAmerican,” he said.
Given the Republican majority in both chambers of Congress, it is unlikely the legislation will advance. However, Schumer and Jeffries outlined other avenues Democrats could take. Schumer threatened to block funding legislation until there are changes and added that Democrats would also hold shadow hearings with whistleblowers.
Though the leaders repeatedly mentioned DOGE, they stayed away from directly saying Elon Musk’s name until asked by reporters.
Jeffries avoided saying the legislation was solely focused on Musk but rather centered around the “whole process” of the recent Treasury moves, when asked how concerned he was specifically about the Tesla founder.
“We’re concerned that Musk is in charge of DOGE, but we’re concerned about the how the whole process works, and ultimately the buck falls with Donald Trump, the president,” Jeffries said. “But we are concerned that a small number of people are concerned with the whole process, including Musk and including the others,” Jeffries said.
The Democrats repeatedly downplayed DOGE’s power.
“It has no authority to make spending decisions, to shut down programs or ignore federal law. This is not debatable. This is an indisputable fact: No authority for spending decisions to shut down programs or ignore federal law,” Schumer warned.
Schumer said that “all 47 Democrats” in the Senate would oppose the confirmation of Office of Management and Budget nominee Russell Vought in light of the federal funding freezes announced last week.
“We are united in our agreement that Russell Vought is a dangerous and destructive choice to lead the Office of Management and Budget, and we saw a precursor to his leadership last week during the dangerous federal funding fees that crippled nearly crippled critical duties of the federal government and its operations,” Schumer said.
“Senate Democrats will unanimously oppose him and do everything we can to prevent him from needing OMB,” he added.
