The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday cleared the way for Donald Trump's administration to pursue mass government job cuts and the sweeping downsizing of numerous agencies, a decision that could lead to tens of thousands of layoffs while dramatically reshaping the federal bureaucracy.

The justices said they were not ruling on the legality of specific firing plans but simply allowing the administration to launch such efforts while litigation continues.

The Supreme Court's conservatives said it was a federal judge in San Francisco, not President Trump, who exceeded her authority.