Tens of thousands of federal government probationary workers fired in recent weeks as part of President Donald Trump's sweeping cuts to the federal workforce must be reinstated immediately to their positions, a California judge has ordered.
The decision from US District Judge William Alsup in San Francisco on Thursday is one of the most far-reaching court defeats so far in the Trump administration's efforts, led by top White House adviser Elon Musk, to gut the federal bureaucracy.
The judge ordered six federal agencies — the departments of Defence, Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Energy, Interior and Treasury — to reinstate recently hired or promoted probationary employees who were terminated by the Trump administration.
Alsup, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton, said the US Office of Personnel Management — the federal government's human resources agency — lacked the authority to order the firings and did so unlawfully.
However, the judge only cited evidence of improper terminations at the six agencies, declining to order the reinstatement of probationary workers at 16 other agencies cited by unions in a lawsuit challenging the layoffs.
He also said the Trump administration tried to circumvent protections for federal workers by falsely claiming the reason for their termination was their "performance."
"It is a sad day when our government would fire some good employee and say it was based on performance when they know good and well that’s a lie," Alsup said.
A US judge denied a request to put a temporary hold on the cost-cutting, allowing the campaign to downsize the federal workforce to continue.
White House lashes out at judge
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, in a statement on the decision, accused the judge of "attempting to unconstitutionally seize the power of hiring and firing from the executive branch" and signalled an appeal was likely.
She did not say whether the administration plans to comply with the order.
"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.
"If a federal district court judge would like executive powers, they can try and run for president themselves."
She added: "The Trump administration will immediately fight back against this absurd and unconstitutional order."
The judge's decision came in a lawsuit filed by the American Federation of Government Employees and other government employee unions and nonprofits.
Everett Kelley, national president of AFGE, said the union is pleased by Alsup's decision to reinstate probationary workers "who were illegally fired from their jobs by an administration hellbent on crippling federal agencies and their work on behalf of the American public."
"We are grateful for these employees and the critical work they do, and AFGE will keep fighting until all federal employees who were unjustly and illegally fired are given their jobs back," Kelley said.
