Judge temporarily halts Trump admin's mass firings of federal workers
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
President Trump at the White House on Feb. 24. Photo by Ludovic Marin / pool / AFP via Getty Images
A federal judge ordered the Office of Personnel Management on Thursday to revoke instructions to fire probationary government workers across several agencies.
The big picture: The ruling from U.S. District Judge William Alsup, which found that the firings were likely illegal, poses one of the largest hurdles yet to President Trump's goal of shrinking the federal workforce.
Driving the news: Alsup instructed OPM to rescind the Jan. 20 memo and Feb. 14 email that directed government agencies, like the Department of Defense and the Park Service, to identify which employees should be terminated.
- Alsup said in San Francisco federal court that "Congress has given the authority to hire and fire to the agencies themselves," per the Washington Post. "The Department of Defense, for example, has statutory authority to hire and fire," he continued.
- "The Office of Personnel Management does not have any authority whatsoever under any statute in the history of the universe to hire and fire employees at another agency," he added. "They can hire and fire their own employees."
Zoom in: The ruling comes in response to a lawsuit filed by unions and advocacy organizations, spearhead by the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents federal workers.
- They argued OPM broke the law in ordering agencies to terminate all probationary employees.
- "OPM, the federal agency charged with implementing this nation's employment laws, in one fell swoop has perpetrated one of the most massive employment frauds in the history of this country, telling tens of thousands of workers that they are being fired for performance reasons, when they most certainly were not," attorneys for the unions said in a court filing.
What they're saying: "We know this decision is just a first step, but it gives federal employees a respite," said Lee Saunders, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), one of the suit's plaintiffs, in a statement.
- "While they work to protect public health and safety, federal workers have faced constant harassment from unelected billionaires and anti-union extremists whose only goal is to give themselves massive tax breaks at the expense of working people," Saunders added.
- "We will continue to move this case forward with our partners until federal workers are protected against these baseless terminations."
- The White House and OPM did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment in the evening.
More from Axios:
- Trump administration ordered to reinstate 6 fired federal workers
- White House orders agencies to prepare for large-scale firings
- Trump: Federal employees who didn't respond to Musk email are on firing "bubble"
Editor's note: This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
