On Tuesday, the United States Supreme Court rejected a lower court’s order demanding the Trump administration to rehire thousands of employees who had been terminated. President Trump and his advisor Elon Musk are currently taking swift action to significantly reduce the federal bureaucracy and reshape the federal government.
Previously, on March 13, U.S. District Judge William Alsup from San Francisco issued an order requiring six federal agencies, including the Department of Defense, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Agriculture, Department of Energy, Department of the Interior, and Department of the Treasury, to reinstate thousands of probationary employees who had been terminated while litigation questioning the legality of their terminations was ongoing.
In a brief order, the Supreme Court stated that the nine non-profit organizations questioning the legality of the terminations lacked standing to sue. The Court also clarified that the order did not address claims by other plaintiffs.
In another case, a federal judge in Baltimore ordered the federal government to reinstate thousands of probationary employees who had been terminated in 18 federal agencies across 19 states and the District of Columbia, which had filed lawsuits regarding widespread terminations.
Previously, the Trump administration had requested the Supreme Court to reject Judge Alsup’s order, arguing that the judge had overstepped his authority. The administration also criticized orders from other judges, stating that these orders have significantly impeded some of the policies the government has been pursuing since taking office in January.
During a previous hearing in this case, Judge Alsup expressed, “It is a sad day when our government fires excellent employees and claims it is based on work performance when it’s clear that it is a lie.” On March 26, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco denied the government’s request to halt the implementation of Judge Alsup’s order, prompting the Trump administration to appeal to the Supreme Court.
The Department of Justice stated in a document that Judge Alsup’s order violated the separation of powers principles outlined in the U.S. Constitution, allowing the plaintiffs to “control the employment relationship between the federal government and its workforce.”
(The information in this article is based on reports from Reuters)