Judge Halts Trump's Workforce Purge, Orders Rehires

A California federal judge ordered six U.S. agencies to reinstate employees fired during Trump's federal workforce purge. U.S. District Judge William Alsup criticized the Office of Personnel Management's improper firings. The ruling highlights the potential scale of job cuts, with agencies facing deadlines for budget slashes.

A California federal judge has intervened, halting President Donald Trump's controversial purge of the federal workforce. On Thursday, Judge William Alsup ordered six U.S. agencies to reinstate thousands of recently-hired employees who were abruptly terminated. This ruling impacts the Department of Defense, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Agriculture, Department of Energy, Department of Interior, and the Treasury Department.

Last month, Alsup had temporarily restrained the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) from directing agencies to fire probationary employees, yet refrained from mandating the reinstatement of terminated workers at that time. Probationary employees, often with less than a year in their roles, have fewer job protections. Despite this, firings are generally restricted to performance-related issues.

Alsup has now stated that OPM lacked the authority to initiate these firings and noted improper directives to terminate staff at the six specified agencies. However, the judge did not extend his order to the other 16 agencies named in the lawsuit filed by unions and nonprofit organizations. The ruling casts a spotlight on the magnitude of Trump's efforts to downsize the federal government, with agencies facing a Thursday deadline to present plans for further layoffs and budget reductions.

(With inputs from agencies.)