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.

Tuesday's ruling stemmed from an executive order Trump issued in February ordering agencies to prepare for mass layoffs. At Trump's direction, the administration has come up with plans to reduce staff at the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Health and Human Services, State, Treasury, Veterans Affairs and more than a dozen other agencies.

In a brief unsigned order, the court said the Trump administration was "likely to succeed" in its argument that his directives were legally within his power.