A U.S. federal judge has dealt a significant blow to the Trump administration’s efforts to reduce the federal workforce, ordering six government agencies to reinstate thousands of employees who were dismissed as part of a broader initiative to shrink the bureaucracy.
The ruling by U.S. District Judge William Alsup during a hearing in San Francisco marks a major setback for the Trump administration and its push to drastically cut federal jobs. Government agencies had been given a Thursday deadline to submit plans for a second wave of layoffs and budget reductions.
Judge Alsup’s decision applies to probationary employees at the U.S. Department of Defense, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Agriculture, Department of Energy, Department of the Interior, and the Treasury Department. The judge found that the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), which oversees federal human resources, had overstepped its authority by directing these agencies to carry out mass dismissals.
“It is a sad day when our government would fire good employees and claim it was based on performance when they know full well that’s not true,” said Alsup, who was appointed by former President Bill Clinton, a Democrat.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt responded to the ruling, stating that Alsup lacked the authority to issue such a decision and that the administration would “immediately fight back.” She emphasized that the president has the authority to manage the executive branch and that individual judges should not obstruct the administration’s agenda.
During the hearing, Alsup clarified that while agencies can conduct mass layoffs, they must adhere to legal requirements. Probationary employees, who typically have less than one year of service in their current roles, have fewer job protections than other federal workers but can generally only be dismissed for performance-related reasons.
The judge ordered the six agencies to reinstate workers who had been dismissed in recent weeks, pending the outcome of a lawsuit filed by unions, nonprofit organizations, and the state of Washington. He did not extend the order to the 16 other agencies named in the lawsuit but indicated he would issue a written decision that could expand on the ruling.
A spokesperson for the Department of Veterans Affairs declined to comment, while a representative from the Department of the Interior stated that the agency does not comment on ongoing litigation involving personnel matters. The other agencies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The plaintiffs in the case include the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), which represents 800,000 federal workers. AFGE President Everett Kelley hailed the decision as a crucial victory against an administration “hellbent on crippling federal agencies and their work on behalf of the American public.”
**Impact on Federal Workers**
As of March 5, approximately 25,000 federal employees had been dismissed, according to a Reuters tally, with an additional 75,000 accepting buyouts. The Trump administration has not released official statistics on the layoffs, and it remains unclear how many workers could be affected by Alsup’s ruling.
The lawsuit argues that the mass dismissals were unlawful because they were mandated by OPM rather than left to the discretion of individual agencies. OPM has maintained that it did not order agencies to terminate employees but instead asked them to identify probationary workers who were not “mission critical.”
On March 4, OPM revised its initial memo, clarifying that it was not directing agencies to take specific actions regarding probationary employees. However, Alsup expressed skepticism about OPM’s claims during the hearing, criticizing the government for not presenting OPM’s acting director, Charles Ezell, to testify.
“I’ve been practicing or serving in this court for over 50 years, and I know how we get at the truth. You’re not helping me get at the truth. You’re giving me press releases, sham documents,” Alsup told the Department of Justice lawyer representing OPM, Kelsey Helland.
Helland defended the administration’s position, stating that it is common for high-ranking officials to avoid testifying in court and that OPM’s filings provided sufficient evidence to prove it did not order the dismissals.
**Broader Legal Challenges**
In addition to the lawsuit in California, several other legal challenges have been filed against the mass layoffs, including cases brought by 20 Democrat-led states and a proposed class action by a group of dismissed workers.
Earlier this month, the Merit Systems Protection Board, which handles appeals from federal employees, ordered the Agriculture Department to temporarily reinstate nearly 6,000 probationary workers.
Judge Alsup’s ruling represents a significant development in the ongoing battle over the Trump administration’s efforts to reduce the federal workforce, with implications for thousands of employees and the future of federal agencies.
