Supreme Court Blocks Rehiring Of Government Workers At Six Agencies

Topline

The Supreme Court blocked a federal judge’s order for the rehiring of probationary government staffers at six federal agencies, marking a win for the Trump administration’s efforts to cut down on government spending and the federal workforce.

Key Facts

The Supreme Court said in a filing it would stay a federal appeals court’s ruling requiring the government to rehire probationary staffers let go from the Departments of Defense, Veterans Affairs, Energy, Treasury and Agriculture.

The court argued the non-profit organization that successfully pushed for the rehirings made allegations that are “presently insufficient to support” its ability to sue.

The stay will temporarily keep about 16,000 probationary employees on paid leave as further litigation plays out, according to the Associated Press.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor and Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson would have kept the lower court’s ruling in place, according to Tuesday’s filing.

Tangent

The Supreme Court’s order does not apply to a separate lawsuit from 19 states challenging the large-scale firings. That lawsuit, filed in Maryland, is currently on hold after a judge ordered workers at over a dozen agencies including the Departments of Defense, Veterans Affairs, Energy, Treasury and Agriculture to be rehired. The Justice Department is appealing the Maryland lawsuit, the AP reported.

Key Background

The lawsuits challenging the Trump administration’s mass government layoffs claim about 24,000 federal workers have been laid off. The Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency has spearheaded the layoffs as part of a broader reduction in government spending that has drawn criticism for its abruptness and large scale. As the mass firings have been carried out, some agencies have admitted to erroneously dismissing staffers. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said last week about 2,000 employees within his agency would be brought back after “personnel that should not have been cut, were cut.” The Department of Agriculture also said in February it mistakenly let go of employees responding to a bird flu outbreak in the U.S. A report from career services firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas found DOGE actions have resulted in the layoffs of some 216,000 contractors and federal workers across 27 agencies, making up the lion’s share of job cuts in the U.S. recently.