Trump administration asks justices to determine courts’ ability to vacate federal agency actions

The Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court to determine whether federal courts have the authority to vacate agency actions nationwide. In a 29-page filing, US Solicitor General D.

John Sauer urged the court to set limits on the authority of federal courts, arguing that the statute governing administrative agencies does not suggest that courts have the power to vacate agency actions in their entirety. The case began as challenges to rules issued by the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Labor, and the Department of the Treasury to implement parts of the No Surprises Act, a 2022 law intended to protect patients from surprise healthcare bills.

A federal district court in Texas ruled for the challengers, but a three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit reversed that ruling in part. The case then went to the full 5th Circuit, which vacated some of the challenged provisions.

The 5th Circuit's decision was based on the court's 2025 decision in Trump v. CASA, in which the justices held that federal courts do not have the authority to enter universal or nationwide injunctions.

The court in that case reasoned that such injunctions were inconsistent with the "equitable tradition," under which courts can grant complete relief to parties before the court but cannot, as a rule, reach beyond them. The same logic applies here, Sauer suggested.

Under the 5th Circuit's decision, "at the behest of a handful of plaintiffs, those regulations are erased from the books as to everyone." Sauer argued that a practice of vacating agency action nationwide will create incentives for forum shopping and give district court orders the type of nationwide effect usually reserved for the precedents of the court of last resort.

The practice also has harmful consequences for the courts themselves, Sauer said. When an action or a rule is vacated nationwide, the government will often have to seek emergency relief, which "forces courts to resolve significant and difficult questions of law on a highly expedited basis and without full briefing."

The challengers' response is currently due on November 13, although that deadline may be extended. The Trump administration's request for the Supreme Court's review of the 5th Circuit's decision is based on the court's 2025 decision in Trump v.

CASA. The court's reasoning in that case is relevant to the current case, as it provides a framework for understanding the limits of federal court power.

The Supreme Court's decision on this matter will have significant implications for the interpretation of federal law and the role of federal courts in enforcing agency regulations.