In a significant legal setback for the Trump administration, federal judges in California and Maryland on Thursday ordered the reinstatement of thousands of probationary federal employees who were dismissed as part of a mass layoff drive across 19 government agencies.
The rulings mark a major blow to President Donald Trump’s ongoing effort, spearheaded by top adviser Elon Musk, to reduce the size of the federal workforce. Government agencies now face a Thursday deadline to submit plans for a second wave of job cuts and budget reductions.
U.S. District Judge James Bredar in Baltimore ruled in favor of 20 Democratic-led states, declaring that 18 federal agencies had violated regulations in laying off thousands of probationary employees en masse.
The judge's restraining order applies to key agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)—all of which have been targeted in the administration’s deregulation and cost-cutting measures.
Other agencies affected by the ruling include the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Labor, Transportation, Treasury, and Veterans Affairs.
Judicial rebuke for mass firings
Judge Bredar dismissed the administration’s claim that the firings were based on performance or other individualized reasons, stating that the scale and speed of the layoffs indicated otherwise.
"The sheer number of employees that were terminated in a matter of days belies any argument that these terminations were due to the employees' individual unsatisfactory performance or conduct," wrote Bredar, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama.
Hours earlier, U.S. District Judge William Alsup in San Francisco had issued a similar ruling, ordering the reinstatement of probationary employees at six agencies, including the Department of Defense, which was not covered under the Maryland court’s decision.
Judge Alsup criticized the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the federal agency responsible for human resources policies, for directing mass firings without the authority to do so.
"It is a sad day when our government would fire some good employees and say it was based on performance when they know good and well that's a lie," said Alsup, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton.
White House pushback
The Trump administration swiftly responded, with White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt vowing to challenge the rulings.
"The President has the authority to exercise the power of the entire executive branch—singular district court judges cannot abuse the power of the entire judiciary to thwart the President’s agenda," Leavitt said in a statement.
The administration has defended the layoffs as a legitimate move to streamline government operations, arguing that probationary workers do not have permanent job protections.
24,000 workers dismissed
The first round of dismissals, which primarily targeted probationary workers, saw at least 24,000 federal employees lose their jobs since Trump returned to office. Probationary workers, who generally have less than a year of service in their roles, have limited avenues to contest their terminations.
However, the states challenging the firings argue that the administration’s actions constituted mass layoffs, which under federal regulations require advance notification to state and local governments. The abrupt job losses, they claim, have led to a surge in unemployment claims and increased demand for social services.
The case before Judge Alsup was filed by unions, nonprofit organizations, and the state of Washington, which argue that OPM’s directive to agencies was unlawful. Among the plaintiffs is the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), which represents 800,000 federal workers.
Everett Kelley, president of AFGE, hailed the decision as a crucial victory against an administration "hellbent on crippling federal agencies and their work on behalf of the American public."
Last month, Judge Alsup had temporarily blocked OPM from ordering agencies to fire probationary employees but stopped short of mandating reinstatements. However, following further legal challenges, he has now ordered that dismissed workers be returned to their positions.
Meanwhile, the Merit Systems Protection Board, which oversees employment disputes in the federal government, recently directed the Agriculture Department to reinstate nearly 6,000 probationary workers at least on a temporary basis.
The rulings set up a legal showdown between the judiciary and the Trump administration, as agencies prepare for the next round of workforce reductions in the coming weeks.
