A federal judge in California has temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s plan to restructure the Department of Agriculture, ruling that the reorganization likely violated congressional restrictions on how appropriated funds can be used.
U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria issued the stay on Tuesday, halting office closures and mandatory employee relocations across eight USDA components. The case was brought by federal employee unions, and in an unusual twist, both the unions and the Department of Justice agreed that part of the law at issue — language allowing congressional committees to approve exceptions for reprogramming funds — is unconstitutional.
Where the two sides split was over what that agreement meant for the reorganization itself. USDA argued that once the unconstitutional provision was struck, nothing stood in the way of moving forward with the restructuring. Chhabria disagreed, concluding that the underlying spending restrictions Congress imposed remain enforceable even without the committee-approval mechanism.
The ruling comes as a temporary stay under the Administrative Procedure Act rather than a permanent injunction, meaning the litigation is far from over. It also arrives against a ticking clock: the spending restrictions at the heart of the case are set to expire on December 11, which gives Congress an opening to change the underlying law before the courts reach a final decision.
The outcome underscores a recurring tension in Washington between the executive branch’s desire to reshape federal agencies and Congress’s constitutional authority over how taxpayer money is spent. For now, USDA’s reorganization plans remain on ice while the legal fight continues.
