A federal judge has issued a preliminary ruling blocking the Trump administration's plan to move the U.S. Forest Service’s headquarters from Washington, D.C., to Salt Lake City. The stay, signed Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria in California’s northern district, will remain in effect while the larger lawsuit over the relocation proceeds through the court.
In his order, Judge Chhabria wrote that Congress has placed restrictions on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) “ability to reorganize without congressional buy-in.” The USDA, which oversees the Forest Service, “has almost certainly been violating those restrictions,” according to the judge. He added that “preliminary relief is necessary to protect the congressional prerogative, prevent irreparable harm to federal employees, and vindicate the public interest.”
Last month, a coalition of nonprofits, local governments, and labor union organizations filed a lawsuit to block the plan, calling it an “unprecedented reorganization.” They argued it would close offices nationwide and force thousands of USDA employees to choose between their careers and their established lives, families, and communities.
USDA officials, in their response to the lawsuit, estimated that approximately 250 employees would be relocated, not thousands. However, the judge determined that any reorganization affecting more than 10 staff members falls within the definition of reprogramming, which requires congressional approval.
The lawsuit plaintiffs stated that USDA leaders, after initially announcing the reorganization plan last July, failed to secure congressional approval. They further claimed that Congress not only rejected the budget proposal reflecting the reorganized agency but also “expressly prohibited the reorganization of the agency without further congressional approval.” Judge Chhabria agreed with this assessment in his ruling, writing that Congress “did not contemplate USDA using its appropriated funds to shut down offices or relocate employees.” He noted that Congress was “actively working to restrict the agency’s ability to do so.”
This preliminary ruling prevents USDA Secretary Brook Rollins and other department leaders from closing offices or reassigning employees to new locations outside their current areas. The judge clarified that the order does not prevent relocating or reassigning employees within the National Capital Region in Washington, D.C., but it does block moving positions outside of that area.
The proposed move was initially announced in March, with the USDA stating it was part of a “sweeping restructuring” of the Forest Service. Secretary Rollins described it as a “common sense” approach to position the agency “closer to the landscapes we manage and the people who depend on them.” The restructuring also included plans to close and consolidate nearly two dozen research facilities and open new, smaller state-based offices. The Idaho Capital Sun reported in April that affected employees, including those in Idaho, were informed they might need to move, find a different position, or resign.
At the time of the announcement, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox issued a statement calling the move a “big win for Utah and the West.” He said, “Moving away from a regional model to a more state-focused approach strengthens federalism and helps the Forest Service do its job more effectively.”
In response to the judge’s ruling, Gov. Cox, along with Utah’s top Republican legislative leaders, House Speaker Mike Schultz and Senate President Stuart Adams, issued a joint statement Wednesday. They called the decision a “setback for common sense and responsible management of our public lands.” The Utah leaders added, “Decisions affecting Western forests and communities should be made closer to the people who know these lands best, not by bureaucrats and special interests thousands of miles away in Washington, D.C.” They expressed hope for a quick reversal of the decision.
Judge Chhabria noted that the “temporal scope of this relief could end up being quite short.” He explained that the relevant appropriations statutes are set to expire in less than two months. If the agency still wishes to proceed with its plans, it will soon have the opportunity to present its case to Congress. Congress could then choose not to extend the current restrictions. However, until then, the judge wrote that the USDA “is preliminarily enjoined from spending appropriated funds on the challenged office closures and employee relocations.”
