“Given that the Government is likely to prevail on its assertion that the Executive Order and Memorandum are lawful — and considering that the other factors relevant to granting a stay are met — we approve the application,” the Court wrote.

Even Justice Sonia Sotomayor, one of the Court’s most liberal members, sided with the majority in granting the stay. She clarified that her concurrence was procedural, not an endorsement of Trump’s downsizing agenda. “I concur with the Court’s stay because it allows the District Court to address those issues initially,” she wrote.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented, warning the decision could