Trump Attorneys Resist Revealing Agency Reorganization Plans

The Trump administration argued in a key legal challenge to its mass layoffs that it should not have to reveal its reduction in force plans for federal agencies in open court.

The government’s position, submitted Monday to the US District Court for the Northern District of California, escalates a battle over the secrecy of President Donald Trump’s effort to cut thousands of federal workers. While some of the layoffs have been made public, the full scope of Trump’s reorganization efforts—including future cuts—haven’t been revealed for every agency.

In the wake of the administration’s victory before the US Supreme Court on July 8, labor unions and others suing the administration argued that the government could no longer conceal the plans under a legal exemption meant to protect private deliberations.

US Department of Justice attorneys countered with several procedural arguments Monday, including that the plaintiffs’ complaints fall under the Administrative Procedure Act. The APA wouldn’t entitle them to disclosure of the government’s plans, only a review of the administrative record, they said.

The government also argued that the plaintiffs haven’t established a need to review the reorganization plans, which are typically protected as deliberative documents by default.

The case isAFGE v. Trump, N.D. Cal., 3:25-cv-03698