Trump administration asks Supreme Court to intervene in rehiring of federal workers

The Trump administration Monday asked the Supreme Court to block an order forcing the government to rehire thousands of workers fired as part of President Trump’s effort to drastically reduce the size of the federal workforce.

U.S. District Judge William Alsup ordered the administration indefinitely reinstate more than 16,000 probationary employees terminated at a half-dozen agencies upon ruling that their firings were likely unlawful.

The Trump administration's emergency application comes after an appeals court declined to immediately block Alsup's order.

"Those orders have sown chaos as the Executive Branch scrambles to meet immediate compliance deadlines by sending huge sums of government money out the door, reinstating thousands of lawfully terminated workers, undoing steps to restructure Executive Branch agencies, and more," acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris wrote in the application.

"The lower courts should not be allowed to transform themselves into all-purpose over-seers of Executive Branch hiring, firing, contracting, and policymaking. Only this Court can end the interbranch power grab," she continued.

The Trump administration has looked to fire thousands of probationary employees — meaning those typically in their first or second year in a position — across the government as part of a broader effort to cut spending and reshape the federal bureaucracy.

Alsup is one of two federal judges to have ordered the Trump administration reinstate fired probationary employees — though both noted the administration can still do so if it follows the proper procedure.

Hours after Alsup's ruling, a federal judge in Baltimore ordered employees be reinstated at a broader group of 18 federal agencies. The Justice Department has not yet brought that case to the Supreme Court.

Emergency applications follow a truncated schedule and are normally handled within a matter of days or weeks.

By default, the administration's new request will go to Justice Elena Kagan, who oversees emergency appeals arising from California. The Justice Department asked Kagan to issue an "administrative stay" immediately blocking the judge's order until the high court can resolve the appeal.

It marks the third time the new administration has sought emergency relief from the high court in the hopes of limiting or blocking lower judges' injunctions.

The justices punted the first request, which asked to reinstate U.S. Special Counsel Hampton Dellinger, before it ultimately became moot. And the second request, which asks the court to limit the nationwide scope of rulings blocking Trump's plan to restrict birthright citizenship, remains pending.

“The Trump administration illegally terminated tens of thousands of federal employees, as duly noted by Judge Alsup,” said Norm Eisen, who leads State Democracy Defenders Fund, a left-leaning legal organization representing the plaintiffs in the newest case.

“The administration’s efforts to block relief have so far failed and now they are turning to the Supreme Court – baselessly,” Eisen said in a statement. “Our coalition remains committed to ensuring that justice prevails for every affected probationary worker and we are confident that the courts will uphold the rule of law. We look forward to seeing the government in court.”

Sarah Fortinsky contributed to this report, which was updated at 1:21 p.m. EDT

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