Topline
A federal appeals court paused a decision from a lower court and will allow President Donald Trump’s administration to move forward in firing thousands of probationary employees in its effort to reduce the federal workforce—a decision that comes one day after the Supreme Court issued a similar ruling.
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters in the Oval Office of the White House on Feb. 3, 2025 in … More
Key Facts
The appeals court ruled 2-1 in favor of the government and stayed the lower court’s ruling, stating in the decision the government is “likely to succeed in showing the district court lacked jurisdiction” in its earlier ruling, and it mentioned a similar ruling by the Supreme Court from Tuesday.
The decision stems from a lawsuit filed by almost two dozen states alleging the government violated federal law when it fired thousands of probationary employees without following the typical reduction in force procedures, including notifying the states.
Wednesday’s ruling from the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals means the workers who were fired will have to “appeal the dismissals through a separate employment process,” the Associated Press reported.
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Contra
One dissenting judge, DeAndra Gist Benjamin, said in her dissent the states that sued over the firing “clearly have standing to challenge the process by which the government has engaged in mass firings.” She continued that she didn’t believe the government could meet any of the four requirements to justify staying the decision, and said, “I write to highlight the Government’s lack of a convincing argument on irreparable harm.”
Key Background
In early March, Maryland and 19 other states sued a number of federal agencies—including the Department of Agriculture, Treasury Department, Department of Veteran Affairs and more—over the administration’s firing of probationary employees. The lawsuit asked for the court to reinstate fired employees and prevent more firings from happening and alleged the firings “inflicted and will continue to inflict serious and irreparable harms on the Plaintiff States, as they must now deal with a sudden surge in unemployment, without the advance notice required under the federal (reduction in force) statute and regulations.”. After the suit was filed, a judge ordered the 18 agencies to temporarily rehire some of the people they fired, which the administration appealed. Most workers were placed on a paid leave after the ruling rather than actually returning to work, though, while the lawsuit continued to play out, Reuters reported. Wednesday’s ruling from the appeals court delivers a legal win to Trump, who, alongside his adviser Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency, has been working to significantly reduce the federal workforce in an effort to save money and make it more efficient. However, DOGE and Trump have faced a number of similar lawsuits over their moves to reduce the workforce, and have erroneously fired thousands of employees in the process.
Tangent
Yesterday, the Supreme Court blocked a lower court’s ruling stating that probationary staffers at six agencies in California had to be rehired, giving Trump another legal win. In its ruling, the court said the organization that pushed for people to be rehired “made allegations that are “presently insufficient to support” its ability to sue.” The Associated Press estimated the stay from the court will keep about 16,000 employees on paid leave while the litigation continues.
Further Reading
Supreme Court Blocks Judge’s Order Requiring Employees At Six Federal Agencies To Be Rehired—For Now (Forbes)
Trump’s Great Rehiring: Over 26,000 Fired By DOGE Likely To Return—So Far (Forbes)
