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

The State Department announced plans to lay off some US-based diplomats and other employees, after the Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration can go ahead with plans to slash the size of the federal workforce.