A U.S. appeals court ruled on Wednesday in favor of the Trump administration, allowing the firing of thousands of federal employees who had been reinstated by a lower court after being let go earlier this year. The ruling from the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Richmond, Virginia, paves the way for the administration to proceed with its mass firings of probationary employees, which were initially halted by a judge in Maryland.
The appeals court found that the lower-court judge, who had previously ordered the reinstatement of workers, likely lacked the authority to hear the case brought by 19 states and Washington, D.C. These states had challenged the February firings of probationary workers, employees with less than a year of service in their current roles.
In a 2-1 decision, the 4th Circuit temporarily suspended the Maryland judge’s ruling, allowing the government to proceed with its plan to remove these employees. This ruling comes just one day after the U.S. Supreme Court paused a similar case in San Francisco, where a judge had required six federal agencies to reinstate around 17,000 probationary workers. Since five of those agencies were also involved in the Maryland case, the Supreme Court’s decision had limited impact.
The lawsuit, led by Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown, was filed after the Trump administration fired approximately 25,000 probationary employees in February, following guidance from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. These terminations were part of a broader strategy by Trump and his allies, including entrepreneur Elon Musk, to reduce the size of the federal government and lower spending.
White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers hailed the appeals court ruling, emphasizing that it upheld the president’s authority to remove federal workers. “The Trump Administration continues to rack up legal wins for the American people,” Rogers said in a statement.
Federal agencies had been directed to identify non-essential probationary workers, with many employees losing their jobs as part of this move. In March, U.S. District Judge James Bredar issued an order temporarily reinstating about 24,600 of these workers, but last week he narrowed the ruling to apply only to those in Washington, D.C., and the states involved in the lawsuit. The 4th Circuit’s ruling on Wednesday paused Bredar’s decision.
The states involved in the lawsuit argued that the mass firings violated federal law, which requires agencies to give 60 days’ notice before large layoffs. They also claimed that the firings would lead to an increase in unemployment claims and demand for social services.
In a dissenting opinion, Circuit Judge DeAndrea Gist Benjamin disagreed with the majority ruling, stating that the states had demonstrated they would suffer significant financial harm, including lost tax revenue and higher unemployment costs. Therefore, she believed the states had the legal right to challenge the firings.
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