POLITICS NEWS – Judges order Trump and federal government to rehire fired probationary workers

Laila Kirkpatrick, Staff Writer

Two federal judges have ordered the Trump administration to reinstate and rehire thousands of probationary federal workers who were let go as part of the mass firings across multiple government agencies. The judge formally handed down the ruling Thursday which is a critical step in preventing Trump from downsizing the federal government. Both judges found legal issues with the way that mass terminations were handled. Trump’s new administration has already appealed this ruling and Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has characterized this as a way to undermine President Trump. In her statement, she said, “The Trump Administration will immediately fight back against this absurd and unconstitutional order.”

In San Francisco, U.S. District Judge William Alsup found that the terminations that occurred across six agencies were directed by the Office of Personnel Management and acting director Charles Ezell who lacked authority to do so. In Baltimore U.S. District Judge James Bredar found that the administration did not follow laws set in place for large-scale layoffs including 60 days’ advance notice.