The Supreme Court allowed Education Secretary Linda McMahon to proceed with mass layoffs, at least temporarily. (Valerie Plesch/picture alliance via Getty Images; Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
"I think they're basically saying, ‘We don't think this is trying to restructure the agency,’" Blackman told Fox News Digital. "Justices Jackson and Sotomayor sort of made that point in the dissent, but I don't think it's resonating with the majority."
Blackman noted that even though these shadow docket decisions are temporary while the lawsuits proceed in the lower courts, they have lasting power. Litigation can take two or three years, and employees who lose their jobs are likely not waiting around for that long to return to the government, he said.
He also said those employees are not "in theory, at least," suffering irreparable harm because "reinstatements with back pay is an option." Irreparable harm is a criterion judges consider before issuing emergency orders.
Last week, the Supreme Court temporarily reversed Judge Susan Illston's order blocking the administration from acting on Trump's executive order to reduce the workforce.
"The President has the authority to seek changes to executive branch agencies, but he must do so in lawful ways and, in the case of large-scale reorganizations, with the cooperation of the legislative branch," Illston, a Clinton-appointed judge based in California, wrote.
‘IT WILL HAPPEN QUICKLY’: STATE DEPT POISED TO ACT AFTER SUPREME COURT GREEN-LIGHTS AGENCY LAYOFFS
Supreme Court Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson (Getty Images)
In Trump's case, the Supreme Court temporarily approved two firings involving the heads of the National Labor Relations Board and Merit Systems Protection Board. The high court’s order was unsigned but indicated that the three liberal justices dissented.
"Because the Constitution vests the executive power in the President… he may remove without cause executive officers who exercise that power on his behalf, subject to narrow exceptions recognized by our precedents," the order read.
The Supreme Court's decision was a boon to Trump's implementation of the unitary executive theory, a legal concept that emphasizes presidential control. However, the order included a cautionary note that the Supreme Court’s finding was cursory and that no final decisions had been made about independent boards.
Kagan tore into the majority for letting Trump move forward with the firings.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
"Not since the 1950s (or even before) has a President, without a legitimate reason, tried to remove an officer from a classic independent agency – a multi member, bipartisan commission exercising regulatory power whose governing statute contains a for-cause provision," Kagan wrote.
Other similar lawsuits, including one brought by two fired Democratic-appointed FTC commissioners, are still pending, and the Supreme Court has not yet weighed in on them.
Ashley Oliver is a reporter for Fox News Digital and FOX Business, covering the Justice Department and legal affairs. Email story tips to ashley.oliver@fox.com.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trumps-controversial-plan-fire-federal-workers-finds-favor-supreme-court