Trump administration reinstates 24,000 fired federal workers amid legal battles

The Trump administration filed a report with the court on Monday outlining attempts to meet the order.

The Trump administration has acted to reinstate a minimum of 24,000 federal probationary workers who were terminated as part of the president's attempt to reduce the size of the government. The reinstatement follows a federal judge's decision that the firings were unlawful, which is a major legal defeat for the administration's aggressive reduction drive, the Washington Post reported.

Legal challenges compel reinstatement

The action comes after a decision by US District Judge James K. Bredar, who directed the administration to reinstate jobs for fired probationary employees at 18 federal agencies. The decision was issued in reaction to a lawsuit filed by 20 Democratic state attorneys general charging that the mass firings were improper under federal law because they did not give adequate notice and misstated performance reasons as justification.

The Trump administration filed a report with the court on Monday outlining attempts to meet the order. Most of the reinstated employees have been put on administrative paid leave, and others have been reinstated completely or reinstated without pay if they were previously on unpaid leave prior to being fired.

Government resistance and appeal attempts

Even with the reinstatement, the Justice Department promptly appealed the ruling to the US Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, requesting an emergency stay to suspend the process. The administration has contended that reinstating the workers might lead to chaos, particularly if an appeals court subsequently permits the terminations to go forward.

Another California case, in which US District Judge William Alsup held the dismissals illegal, has resulted in an order to reinstate six federal agencies. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the administration's motion for a stay, compelling the agencies to keep rehiring on hold pending the appeal.

The affected agencies are the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Labor, Transportation, Treasury, and Veterans Affairs, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, General Services Administration, Small Business Administration, and USAID.

The California decision impacts the Departments of Agriculture, Defense, Energy, Interior, Treasury, and Veterans Affairs.

The administration's wider legal struggles

Federal workers reinstatement is just one of the several court challenges before the Trump administration over the misuse of executive powers. On Monday, US District Court Chief Judge James E. Boasberg requested the explanation of the administration over claims it has defied a court directive compelling deportation flights to be routed back while still airborne. Such court conflicts are the result of heightened friction between the White House and the judiciary as courts resist the aggressive policy rollbacks.

Future implications

The court fight over the federal workforce will most certainly persist as the administration endeavours to appeal the decisions. In the event that the courts finally decide against the White House, the administration will likely have to completely reinstate all the impacted employees, radically changing its push to reduce the size of the government. Until then, the reinstated workers are stuck in limbo as legal ambiguity lingers around their job status.