Federal courts in California and Maryland have delivered a significant setback to the Trump administration’s sweeping campaign to reduce the federal workforce. Judges ordered the reinstatement of thousands of probationary employees, ruling that the terminations violated regulations governing mass layoffs.
In Baltimore, a Maryland judge concluded that 18 agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency and the Departments of Education and Homeland Security, unlawfully dismissed workers without following proper procedures. The court highlighted the scale of the firings, deeming them mass layoffs that required advance notice and adherence to specific protocols.
Meanwhile, in San Francisco, another federal judge targeted the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) for overstepping its authority. The ruling focused on six additional agencies, including the Department of Defense, where mass terminations were found to lack proper justification.
The administration argued the dismissals were based on individual performance, but the courts found the claims unconvincing. The Maryland judge pointed to the sheer volume of terminations as evidence that they were orchestrated en masse, not individually assessed. Similarly, the California court criticized the administration for presenting misleading performance-related reasons to justify the firings.
The rulings mark a significant blow to an initiative led by Trump and adviser Elon Musk to restructure federal agencies. The administration has been aggressively pursuing reductions in the federal workforce, which numbered 2.3 million employees when Trump resumed office. Probationary workers, who generally lack the full protections afforded to longer-serving federal employees, were the initial targets of this downsizing effort. Over 24,000 have reportedly been terminated since the program’s inception.
State governments and unions challenged the firings, arguing they violated labor regulations and placed undue strain on local resources. The lawsuits have drawn support from groups representing federal workers, including the American Federation of Government Employees, which hailed the court decisions as victories against what it described as a dismantling of critical public services.
The White House has vowed to appeal the rulings, with officials asserting the president’s authority to reorganize the executive branch. However, the courts’ decisions underscore the legal challenges facing the administration’s attempt to streamline the federal workforce through rapid and large-scale dismissals. For now, thousands of workers are set to return to their positions, marking a temporary pause in the administration’s ambitious plans.
