Two U.S. judges have ordered multiple federal agencies to restore the jobs of probationary employees who were dismissed en masse by the Trump administration last month.
In California, District Judge William Alsup described the mass firings as part of a “sham” strategy designed to bypass proper protocols for reducing the federal workforce.
His ruling—followed by a similar one from a judge in Maryland—affects thousands of probationary workers dismissed from various departments, including defense, energy, treasury, and veterans affairs.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has maintained that the terminations were based on guidance rather than a direct order from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). The BBC has reached out to OPM for comment.
OPM, traditionally a low-profile agency overseeing the federal government’s civil service, has come under scrutiny as President Donald Trump has moved to shrink the size of the federal workforce.
During a hearing in San Francisco, California, on Thursday, Judge Alsup countered the DOJ lawyer’s arguments, citing termination letters that explicitly stated the firings were carried out under OPM’s instructions.
“That should not have been done in our country,” Judge Alsup stated. “It was a sham in order to avoid statutory requirements.”
Danielle Leonard, an attorney representing a coalition of government employee unions, argued that probationary employees had been specifically targeted because they lacked the right to appeal their dismissals.
Judge Alsup also expressed concern over the firing of a government worker in Albuquerque, New Mexico, who had received top performance ratings yet was dismissed under the pretense of poor performance.
“I just want to say it is a sad day when our government would fire a good employee and say it’s for performance when they know good and well that’s a lie,” Judge Alsup said.
Following Alsup’s ruling, District Judge James Bredar in Baltimore, Maryland, issued a similar order, concluding that the Trump administration had violated regulations and casting doubt on claims that employees had been individually terminated for unsatisfactory performance.
Reacting to the initial ruling, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt accused Judge Alsup of “attempting to unconstitutionally seize the power of hiring and firing from the executive branch.”
She emphasized that the authority to make such decisions rested with the president, arguing that “singular district court judges cannot abuse the power of the entire judiciary to thwart the president’s agenda.”
“The Trump administration will immediately fight back against this absurd and unconstitutional order,” Leavitt added.
Elon Musk’s name was not explicitly mentioned in the California hearing, but he has been entrusted by President Trump with leading efforts to reduce the federal workforce through the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency, informally referred to as Doge.
“He was on everybody’s mind,” said Luz Fuller, president of a Sacramento branch of the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents over 4,500 workers in Northern California.
The White House has denied that Musk is officially heading the agency, though Trump referred to him as such during his Congressional address last week.