The Trump administration has filed an emergency motion to vacate an ex parte short-term restraining order issued by the U.S. District Court docket for the Southern District of New York.
This order egregiously interferes with the manager department’s operations by limiting entry to essential Treasury Division programs.
On Saturday, Obama appointee Choose Paul A. Engelmayer issued an ex parte temporary restraining order that restricted entry to Treasury programs solely to “civil servants,” explicitly excluding “all political appointees” from accessing these programs.
Ex parte means the “Trump administration legal professionals weren’t given discover, weren’t allowed to argue, and weren’t even within the room. Solely Democrat attorneys basic had been heard, guaranteeing a predetermined consequence.”
LAWFARE: In an egregious and unconstitutional assault on government authority, Choose Paul Engelmayer has unilaterally forbidden all of Trump’s political appointees—together with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent—from accessing Treasury Division information. This ruling, concocted with out… pic.twitter.com/gauqMKURvY
— @amuse (@amuse) February 8, 2025
The order briefly blocks the Division of Authorities Effectivity (DOGE), led by Elon Musk, and Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, from accessing a delicate cost system that distributes People’ tax returns, Social Safety advantages, incapacity funds, and federal worker salaries.
It additionally mandates the fast destruction of any data which will have been copied or downloaded by these people since January 20, the date Trump was inaugurated.
This order will stay in impact till an additional listening to is scheduled for February 14, when the courtroom will think about whether or not to increase or modify the restraining order.
On Sunday night time, the Trump administration filed an emergency movement to dissolve, make clear, or modify an ex parte short-term restraining order issued by Engelmayer, asserting his ruling violates Article II of the Structure.
Article II of the United States Constitution establishes the manager department of the federal government and the position of the President.
The Trump administration argues that Engelmayer’s determination represents a “exceptional intrusion” on government authority, emphasizing that the separation of powers doctrine protects the president’s proper to oversee the manager department, together with all politically appointed leaders throughout the Treasury Division.
Based on the motion:
“At roughly 1:00 a.m. on Saturday, February 8, 2025, this Court docket issued an exparteMomentary Restraining Order that presupposed to restrict entry to an enormous swath of Treasury programs to solely “civil servants,” whereas prohibiting “all political appointees” from doing the identical.
On its face, the Order could possibly be learn to cowl all political management inside Treasury—together with even Secretary Bessent.
It is a exceptional intrusion on the Government Department that’s in direct battle with Article II of the Structure, and the unitary construction it offers.
There may be not and can’t be a foundation for distinguishing between “civil servants” and “political appointees.”Fundamental democratic accountability requires that each government company’s work be supervised by politically accountable management, who finally reply to the President.
A federal courtroom, in step with the separation of powers, can’t insulate any portion of that work from the specter of political accountability.
No courtroom can situation an injunction that instantly severs the clear line of supervision Article II requires. As a result of the Order on its face attracts an impermissible and anti-constitutional distinction, it must be dissolved instantly.
At minimal, the Court docket ought to both make clear or modify its Order, in order to keep away from its most direct constitutional and sensible hazards.As written, the injunction is markedly overbroad.
There isn’t any sound cause that it ought to prolong to Treasury’s management, who’re charged with overseeing and administering the Division with out interruption.
To the extent the Order applies to senior political appointees at Treasury, it’s a rare and unprecedented judicial interference with a Cupboard Secretary’s capability to supervise the Division he was constitutionally appointed to guide. Interfering with these primary features, even for a day, will trigger irreparable hurt to the federal government.
Against this, Plaintiffs haven’t even tried to point out how they might undergo any irreparable hurt because of Treasury’s political management being excluded from the short-term injunction.
If the Court docket is unwilling to grant reduction from its Order, the USA respectfully requests that the Order be stayed pending the disposition of any attraction that’s licensed, or at a minimal that such reduction be administratively stayed for a interval of seven days to permit the USA to hunt an emergency, expedited keep from the Court docket of Appeals.
To be clear, however the Order’s defects, Defendants are in compliance with it. As described under, Defendants have taken what they imagine to be all obligatory steps to adjust to the Court docket’s Order. However this isn’t a sturdy established order.
To treatment the intense issues beget by the Order’s breadth, the Court docket ought to instantly dissolve, make clear, or modify the Order whereas this matter is being briefed, argued, and selected the deserves.
The issuance of this ex parte TRO has outraged tens of millions of People.
Vice President JD Vance criticized the judge’s decision, stating that it undermines the manager department’s official authority to handle authorities operations.
“If a choose tried to inform a basic the way to conduct a navy operation, that will be unlawful. If a choose tried to command the legal professional basic in the way to use her discretion as a prosecutor, that’s additionally unlawful. Judges aren’t allowed to regulate the manager’s official energy,” Vance wrote.
If a choose tried to inform a basic the way to conduct a navy operation, that will be unlawful.
If a choose tried to command the legal professional basic in the way to use her discretion as a prosecutor, that’s additionally unlawful.
Judges aren’t allowed to regulate the manager’s official energy.
— JD Vance (@JDVance) February 9, 2025
