In a dramatic twist on Friday evening, US District Judge William Alsup, handpicked by none other than Bill Clinton, has taken bold action against the Trump Administration. He has prohibited the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) from firing more probationary employees, throwing a wrench into President Trump’s strategic downsizing of the federal workforce.
President Trump had previously slashed tens of thousands of probationary positions as part of his campaign to streamline government operations and eliminate unnecessary bureaucracy.
Last month, Judge Alsup ordered the Trump Administration to reinstate thousands of fired probationary employees from six key federal agencies:
- Veterans Affairs (VA)
- Department of Defense (DOD)
- Department of Energy
- Department of the Interior
- Department of the Treasury
- Department of Agriculture
However, just last Tuesday, the US Supreme Court intervened, temporarily blocking Alsup’s ruling and siding with the Trump Administration—a clear victory for those advocating for a more efficient government.
Undeterred, Judge Alsup criticized the “boiler template” used by the Trump Administration for terminating federal workers, labeling it a “sham,” and further restricted the OPM from continuing mass terminations. Notably, individual agencies still retain the power to dismiss employees based on their performance.
JUST IN: Judge William Alsup reimposes injunction against Trump admin’s mass firing of probationary workers at some fed agencies. But he will allow agencies to assert they made individualized decisions to fire. Doc: https://t.co/DP3tKS9t1V
— Josh Gerstein (@joshgerstein)
April 18, 2025
Meanwhile, in a related case, a federal appeals court has paved the way for President Trump to continue his mission of trimming the federal workforce. On Wednesday, the court cleared the path for dismissing thousands of probationary workers across 18 federal agencies.
Previously, US District Judge James Bredar, appointed by Obama, had mandated the Trump Administration to rehire around 20,000 probationary employees. Judge Bredar argued that the federal government must adhere to specific rules when conducting mass layoffs, even for those on probationary status.
The judge emphasized, “When the federal government terminates large numbers of its employees, including those still on probation because they were recently hired or promoted, it must follow certain rules. Some of those rules are intended to help states manage the consequences of sudden, mass layoffs.”
Judge Bredar extended his injunction, but its reach is limited to Washington D.C. and the 19 states involved in the lawsuit, stopping short of a nationwide ban.
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, in Virginia, upheld the Trump Administration’s motion for a stay on the preliminary injunction while the appeal is pending. The panel, composed of Judges Allison Rushing (Trump appointee), Harvie Wilkinson (Reagan appointee), and DeAndrea Benjamin (Biden appointee), showcased a mix of judicial perspectives.
They referenced the Supreme Court’s recent decision, asserting, “The Supreme Court has stayed a similar preliminary injunction issued by the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.”
