JACKSON, Wyo. — On Thursday, March 13, in two separate rulings, federal judges in California and Maryland ordered U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration to reinstate tens of thousands of probationary federal workers who lost their jobs in mass firings across multiple government agencies.
In February, the first wave of firings saw thousands of workers released from their positions at the U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service and many more. As of Friday, March 14, President Trump is expected to proceed with a second wave of mass firings and budget cuts across the U.S. federal government as reported by Reuters.
According to the Associated Press, U.S. District Judge William Alsup of San Francisco found that terminations across six agencies were directed by the Office of Personnel Management and acting director Charles Ezell, someone who lacked the authority to do so. U.S. District Judge James Bredar of Baltimore found that the Trump administration did not follow laws set out for large-scale layoffs, including the requirement to provide employees with 60 days’ advance notice.
Bredar ordered the firings be temporarily halted and the workforce return to the “status quo” before the mass layoffs began.
“The Trump Administration will immediately fight back against this absurd and unconstitutional order,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement in response to Bredar’s ruling. “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.”
These judge rulings come a week after 20 states filed a lawsuit against multiple federal agencies, demanding the reinstatement of thousands of federal probationary works that President Trump’s administration “illegally” fired. According to the lawsuit, at least 24,000 probationary employees have been terminated since Trump took office, although the government has not confirmed that number.
Wyoming, Montana and Idaho are all absent from the list of states involved in the litigation. In a Wednesday, March 12, press conference following the legislative session, Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon expressed support for President Trump and billionaire Elon Musk’s mass layoffs.
“We needed to downsize the federal government,” Gordon said. “I do also appreciate the fact that this is going to be very traumatic for some of the individuals involved.”
In Jackson, more than 100 locals gathered on Town Square on Saturday, March 1, to protest cuts to the federal workforce. See photos from the rally here.
