Supreme Court Sides with Trump (for Now) on Federal Employee Firings
The Supreme Court on Tuesday handed a temporary win to the Trump administration, allowing it to continue removing thousands of probationary federal employees from the payroll while legal battles over the firings play out in lower courts.
In a short, two-paragraph order, the Court blocked a lower court ruling that had required the federal government to reinstate over 16,000 probationary employees. The justices said the unions that filed the lawsuit lacked legal standing—without addressing whether the firings themselves were lawful.
The ruling isn’t a final decision on the case, but it means those workers won’t be getting their jobs back anytime soon. The move is the latest in a string of victories for the administration at the Supreme Court, which currently leans conservative.
Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented. Jackson questioned why the Court needed to intervene so quickly on an emergency basis.
The broader legal picture remains murky. Earlier this month, a federal judge in Maryland issued a separate order requiring some of the terminated workers—who weren’t covered by the Supreme Court case—to be reinstated.
“This was a narrow ruling,” explained CNN legal analyst and Georgetown law professor Steve Vladeck. “The Supreme Court only said that the organizations who won the earlier injunction in San Francisco weren’t the right plaintiffs to bring the case. It’s still a win for Trump, but it doesn’t settle the bigger legal question.”
The case marks another front in the Trump administration’s effort to shrink the federal workforce. Probationary federal employees—typically within their first year on the job—have fewer protections and are easier to fire. While they usually can’t appeal firings, they may do so if political bias or discrimination is involved.
The mass firings sparked outrage across agencies, especially after the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) directed the dismissals. Some agencies later re-hired employees independently.
Judge William Alsup of California, who was appointed by President Bill Clinton, ordered the Trump administration to rehire over 16,000 workers. He argued that OPM overstepped its authority.
“Each agency has discretion to hire and fire its own employees,” Alsup wrote. “But here, agencies were directed by OPM to terminate all probationary staff. That required immediate reinstatement to prevent irreparable harm.”
The Trump administration, however, saw the lower court ruling as an overreach by the judiciary into executive decision-making.
“The district court’s sweeping order is causing ongoing harm to the Executive Branch,” argued then-acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris, urging the Supreme Court to intervene.
This decision follows another recent win for Trump, when the Court allowed continued deportations under the Alien Enemies Act—though it added some new restrictions.
