President Donald Trump said the U.S. Supreme Court may need to decide if a Clinton-appointed judge can require the administration to reinstate thousands of probationary workers fired as the administration moves to shrink the federal workforce.
“It’s a judge that’s putting himself in the position of the president of the United States, who was elected by close to 80 million votes,” Trump said aboard Air Force One on a flight back to Washington Sunday night. “That’s a very dangerous thing for our country. And I would suspect that we’re going to have to get a decision from the Supreme Court.”
U.S. District Judge William Alsup, issued the order last week during a federal court hearing in San Francisco on a lawsuit brought by labor unions and other organizations challenging the mass firings ordered by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).
SECOND JUDGE REQUIRES TRUMP ADMIN TO REHIRE PROBATIONARY WORKERS LET GO IN MASS FIRINGS
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters upon arrival in West Palm Beach, Florida, Feb. 16, 2025. (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)
“And that’s a very dangerous decision for our country, because these are people in many cases, they don’t show up for work. Nobody even knows if they exist. And a judge wants us to pay them, even if they don’t know they exist and if they exist,” Trump said. “And I don’t think that’s going to be happening. But we’ll have to say you have to speak to the lawyers about that.”
Shortly after Alsup’s order, a second judge – appointed by former President Barack Obama – also issued a ruling ordering the Trump administration to rehire the fired workers. In Baltimore, U.S. District Judge James Bredar, ruled the firings should cease for two weeks while the federal workforce returns to its previous regulations, arguing the Trump administration ignored procedures for mass layoffs.
JUDGE ORDERS TRUMP ADMIN TO REINSTATE PROBATIONARY WORKERS FIRED AT 6 AGENCIES
Protesters rally outside the Theodore Roosevelt Federal Building,…
