Trump administration asks Supreme Court to halt judge's order to rehire
probationary federal workers
[March 25, 2025]
By LINDSAY WHITEHURST
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on
Monday to halt a ruling ordering the rehiring of thousands of federal
workers let go in mass firings aimed at dramatically downsizing the
federal government.
The emergency appeal argues that the judge can't force the executive
branch to rehire more than 16,000 probationary employees. The
California-based judge found the firings didn’t follow federal law, and
he ordered reinstatement offers be sent as a lawsuit plays out.
The appeal also calls on the conservative-majority court to rein in the
growing number of federal judges who have slowed President Donald
Trump's sweeping agenda.
“Only this Court can end the interbranch power grab,” the appeal stated.
The nation's federal court system has become ground zero for pushback to
Trump with the Republican-led Congress largely supportive or silent, and
judges have ruled against Trump's administration more than three dozen
times after finding violations of federal law.
The rulings run the gamut from birthright citizenship changes to federal
spending to transgender rights.
Trump’s unparalleled flurry of executive orders seems destined for
several dates at a Supreme Court that he helped shape with three
appointees during his first term, but so far the majority on the
nine-member court has taken relatively small steps in two cases that
have reached it.
The latest order appealed to the high court was one of two handed down
the same day. While acknowledging the president can lay off employees,
two judges found separate legal problems with the way the Republican
administration's firings of probationary employees were carried out.
U.S. District Judge William Alsup in San Francisco ruled that the
terminations were improperly directed by the Office of Personnel
Management and its acting director. He ordered rehiring at six agencies:
the departments of Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Defense, Energy, the
Interior and the Treasury.
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A federal employee, who asked not to use their name for fears
over losing their job, protests with a sign saying "Federal
Employees Don't Work for Kings" during the "No
His order came in a lawsuit filed by a coalition of labor unions and
nonprofit organizations that argued they'd be affected by the
reduced manpower.
Alsup, who was appointed by Democratic President Bill Clinton,
expressed frustration with what he called the government’s attempt
to sidestep laws and regulations by firing probationary workers with
fewer legal protections.
He said he was appalled that employees were told they were being
fired for poor performance despite receiving glowing evaluations
just months earlier.
Attorney Norm Eisen, one of the attorneys representing the
plaintiffs, vowed to defend the order. “Our coalition remains
committed to ensuring that justice prevails for every affected
probationary worker,” he said.
The federal government, on the other hand, said the sweeping order
requiring the employees to be rehired goes beyond the judge's legal
authority. The plaintiffs never had legal standing to sue and did
not prove that the Office of Personnel Management wrongly directed
the firings, the Justice Department argued on appeal.
“The district court has compelled the government to embark on the
massive administrative undertaking of reinstating, and onboarding to
full duty status, thousands of terminated employee in the span of a
few days,” Acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris wrote. “The ensuing
financial costs and logistical burdens of ongoing compliance efforts
are immense.”
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