The Trump administration is not backing down on its decision to fire thousands of probationary federal workers, and now it wants the Supreme Court to weigh in.
In an emergency appeal on Monday, the Justice Department asked the Supreme Court to block a California judge’s March 13 ruling that ordered the administration to rehire fired probationary workers at six federal agencies.
Acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris contested the prior ruling from US District Judge William Alsup, writing in Monday’s filing that his order had let “let third parties hijack the employment relationship between the federal government and its workforce.”
She argued that Alsup’s “extraordinary” order violated the separation of powers by challenging “the Executive Branch’s powers of personnel management on the flimsiest of grounds and the hastiest of timelines.”
“That is no way to run a government,” she continued, asking the Supreme Court to “stop the ongoing assault on the constitutional structure before further damage is wrought.”
In his ruling, Alsup said the Trump administration’s mass firing of probationary workers at the departments of Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Defense, Energy, Interior, and Treasury had violated federal law around reductions in force and had not followed required procedures. Alsup ordered the affected employees to be rehired immediately.
Alsup wasn’t the only federal judge to rule against the Trump administration’s mass firing. Following Alsup’s ruling, another federal judge, US District Judge James Bredar of Maryland, issued a similar but even more sweeping order later that day, directing 18 federal agencies to rehire their probationary staffers.
Harris argued both judge’s orders were similar, but Alsup’s “inflicts additional practical and administrative burdens,” because Bredar’s allows the reinstated employees to be placed on administrative leave.
As the legal battles against Trump’s executive actions continue to mount, this isn’t the first case to reach the High Court’s desk, and it likely won’t be the last.
Trump has frequently railed against lower court judges who challenge his agenda, accusing them of being “radical” and “partisan.” Last week, the president wrote on Truth Social, in reference to judges’ injunctions against his orders, “If Justice Roberts and the United States Supreme Court do not fix this toxic and unprecedented situation IMMEDIATELY, our Country is in very serious trouble!”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, but a spokesperson for the Department of the Interior previously told BI it is complying with orders to reinstate fired probationary workers while the White House works through the appeals process.
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