Our courts get things right sometimes. This is one of them.
The ruling Friday by the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia puts on hold a lower court decision that had ruled Mr. Trump’s action illegal, saying courts have the power to review presidential determinations and that Mr. Trump’s reasoning fell short.
The appellate judges, in an unsigned order, said that decision was likely wrong because the law gives the president “broad authority” to decide when to exclude federal employees from collective bargaining for national security reasons.
They said the State Department secretary is a member of the National Security Council, and the department’s mission is focused on U.S. security, so the president’s national security decisions are controlling here.
“When a statutory delegation invokes the president’s discretion in exercising core Article II responsibilities, there is little for a court to review,” the three-judge circuit panel said.
The court issued a stay of a ruling by Judge Paul Friedman, a Clinton appointee. That means the employees can be stripped of their bargaining rights while the case proceeds in lower courts.
While the panel did have to address the substance of the arguments over presidential powers, its ruling is not the final word.
Appeals court allows Trump to strip union rights from USAID, State Dept. employees
A federal appeals court has given temporary approval for President Trump to strip collective bargaining rights from employees at the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development, saying the law grants the White House wide latitude.The ruling Friday by the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia puts on hold a lower court decision that had ruled Mr. Trump’s action illegal, saying courts have the power to review presidential determinations and that Mr. Trump’s reasoning fell short.
The appellate judges, in an unsigned order, said that decision was likely wrong because the law gives the president “broad authority” to decide when to exclude federal employees from collective bargaining for national security reasons.
They said the State Department secretary is a member of the National Security Council, and the department’s mission is focused on U.S. security, so the president’s national security decisions are controlling here.
“When a statutory delegation invokes the president’s discretion in exercising core Article II responsibilities, there is little for a court to review,” the three-judge circuit panel said.
The court issued a stay of a ruling by Judge Paul Friedman, a Clinton appointee. That means the employees can be stripped of their bargaining rights while the case proceeds in lower courts.
While the panel did have to address the substance of the arguments over presidential powers, its ruling is not the final word.