A federal judge has thrown a wrench into President Trump’s effort to uproot the US Forest Service from Washington, DC, and plant its headquarters in Utah. In a Tuesday order, Judge Vince Chhabria in California temporarily barred the US Department of Agriculture from relocating employees beyond their current commutes, closing offices, or shifting funds for a broader reorganization that included moving the Forest Service to Salt Lake City, the Salt Lake Tribune reports.
Chhabria wrote that Congress did not authorize the USDA, which oversees the Forest Service, to use “its appropriated funds to shut down offices or relocate employees.” The ruling came in a lawsuit filed by a coalition of labor unions, conservation groups, and local government offices, UPR reports. They argued that the plan, which also included closing 23 research stations, would gut the agency and damage services, and that it was unlawful without congressional approval.
The pause, which covers agencies like the Forest Service, Food and Nutrition Service, and Agricultural Research Service, could be short-lived: the relevant funding laws expire in less than two months. “If the agency wishes to move forward with its plans to close offices and relocate employees, it will soon have the opportunity to convince Congress of the merits of those plans,” the judge wrote. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox called the ruling a “setback for common sense” and urged a quick reversal, the Tribune reports.