Overview

• The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 in favor of the Trump administration, pausing a lower court order that had reinstated fired probationary federal workers.
• The decision follows a similar Supreme Court ruling that blocked a California judge's injunction requiring the rehiring of 16,000 probationary employees across six federal agencies.
• The rulings enable the Trump administration to move forward with its effort to downsize the federal workforce by targeting probationary employees who lack full civil service protections.
• A coalition of 20 Democratic-led states and Washington, D.C., had argued that the mass firings violated federal reduction-in-force procedures, causing economic strain on state systems.
• Dissenting Judge DeAndrea Benjamin maintained that the states had standing to challenge the firings due to the harm caused by increased unemployment claims and lost tax revenue.