JUST IN: Trump Administration Must Reinstate Thousands Of Fired Federal Workers, Judge Rules

A federal judge ruled the Trump administration must reinstate tens of thousands of fired probationary employees in federal agencies.

According to POLITICO, U.S. District Judge William Alsup called the mass firings a “sham” to avoid legal requirements to reduce the federal workforce.

BREAKING: Bill Clinton appointed federal judge orders the Trump administration to rehire thousands of federal workers who were fired. pic.twitter.com/vDQx9bX4vu

— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) March 13, 2025

From POLITICO:

Alsup, a San Francisco-based appointee of President Bill Clinton, ordered the Defense, Treasury, Energy, Interior, Agriculture and Veterans Affairs departments to “immediately” offer all fired probationary employees their jobs back. The Office of Personnel Management, the judge said, had made an “unlawful” decision to terminate them.

The order is one of the most far-reaching rejections of the Trump administration’s effort to slash the bureaucracy and is almost certain to be appealed.

Alsup also lashed out at the Justice Department over its handling of the case, saying he believes that Trump administration lawyers were hiding the facts about who directed the mass firings.

“You will not bring the people in here to be cross-examined. You’re afraid to do so because you know cross examination would reveal the truth,” the judge said to a DOJ attorney during a hearing Thursday. “I tend to doubt that you’re telling me the truth. … I’m tired of seeing you stonewall on trying to get at the truth.”

A federal judge ordered the federal government to rehire thousands of employees dismissed from six agencies, saying the Trump administration’s justification for firing the probationary workers had been a “sham.”

The judge directed the Treasury and the Veterans Affairs,… pic.twitter.com/2aSJMO0MHg

— Melissa Hallman (@dotconnectinga) March 13, 2025

A federal judge on Thursday ordered the Trump administration to immediately reinstate probationary workers let go during mass firings in an effort to shrink the federal workforce.

READ MORE: https://t.co/KXVLNJ8QLV pic.twitter.com/1NIItRKs7U

— The National Desk (@TND) March 13, 2025

The Hill reports:

The case is one of multiple pending lawsuits challenging the mass terminations of probationary workers, who are usually in their first or second year in a role. The firings are just one dimension of a broader effort by the new Trump administration to reshape the federal bureaucracy, which has sparked dozens of lawsuits.

Alsup issued his ruling from the bench after criticizing the government for withdrawing a sworn declaration it submitted from acting Office of Personnel Management (OPM) head Charles Ezell so he wouldn’t have to testify and face cross-examination at Thursday’s hearing, as the judge had ordered.

“Come on, that’s a sham. Go ahead. It upsets me, I want you to know that. I’ve been practicing or serving in this court for over 50 years, and I know how do we get at the truth,” said Alsup, an appointee of former President Clinton.

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“And you’re not helping me get at the truth. You’re giving me press releases, sham documents,” the judge added.