In a major rebuke to the Trump administration’s effort to gut the federal workforce, a federal judge ruled Thursday that the mass firing of thousands of government employees was illegal and must be halted. The ruling by Judge William Alsup of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California directly challenges the administration’s use of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM)—an agency now controlled by associates of billionaire Elon Musk—to orchestrate sweeping layoffs across multiple federal agencies.
Despite the ruling, however, many fired workers remain in limbo, and the administration’s broader effort to shrink, privatize, and dismantle key government agencies continues. The decision, while a victory for federal employees and labor unions, does not yet guarantee reinstatement for all affected workers—raising urgent questions about the future of the federal civil service under Trump and Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
The case was brought by a coalition of labor unions and advocacy groups, who sued OPM after the agency ordered thousands of probationary federal employees to be fired. Their argument was straightforward: OPM, which handles certain human resources functions, does not have the legal authority to order agencies to fire employees.
Judge Alsup agreed.
“OPM does not have any authority whatsoever under any statute in the history of the universe to hire and fire employees at another agency,” Alsup stated in his ruling.
Calling the mass firings “illegal” and “should be stopped and rescinded,” Alsup condemned OPM for its false claim that the terminations were performance-based.
“That’s just not right in our country, is it, that we would run our agencies with lies like that and stain somebody’s record for the rest of their life?” he said during the hearing. “Who’s going to want to work in a government that would do that?”
However, the ruling does not yet guarantee reinstatement for all affected employees.
Alsup’s ruling specifically bars layoffs at agencies involved in the case, including:
• National Park Service
• Bureau of Land Management
• Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
• National Science Foundation
While the decision prevents these agencies from carrying out the OPM-ordered terminations, it stopped short of ordering the rehiring of fired employees—a significant limitation that leaves thousands of workers uncertain about their futures.
The court decision sheds light on a broader effort by Trump and Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to drastically reduce the federal workforce.
The administration’s goal, according to critics, is to cripple key government agencies such as the:
• Social Security Administration
• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
• Small Business Administration
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
These cuts, framed as efforts to “streamline” government operations, have severely weakened agencies responsible for public services. NOAA, which was not included in the ruling, recently laid off hundreds of employees—including staff tasked with maintaining radar systems and national weather forecasts.
Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, called the ruling an important step but warned that Musk’s broader privatization agenda is still moving forward.
“Our union will keep fighting until we put a stop to these demoralizing and damaging attacks on our civil service once and for all,” Kelley said.
Musk, who oversees Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, has played a key role in eliminating federal jobs and pushing for public-sector layoffs. Under his leadership, the administration has sought to:
• Weaken federal agencies through drastic workforce reductions
• Privatize key public services
• Cut oversight and regulations that affect corporate interests
Critics argue that Musk has a direct financial interest in reducing government regulations and workforce protections. By shrinking agencies that regulate corporate practices, Musk’s private ventures—including SpaceX, Tesla, and other government contractors—stand to benefit.
Lee Saunders, president of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, issued a statement following the ruling, saying:
“While they work to protect public health and safety, federal workers have faced constant harassment from unelected billionaires and anti-union extremists whose only goal is to give themselves massive tax breaks at the expense of working people.”
While the ruling halts some firings, the broader legal and political battle is far from over.
• Labor unions have vowed to keep fighting to reinstate fired employees.
• The Merit Systems Protection Board has already ordered six fired workers temporarily reinstated while an investigation by the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) moves forward.
• Special Counsel Hampton Dellinger is considering options to expand protections to more fired employees.
Judge Alsup, while stopping short of broader reinstatements, urged the Trump administration to extend relief beyond the agencies included in the ruling.
“I’m going to count on the government to do the right thing and go further than I have ordered and to let some of these agencies know what I have ruled,” he said.
The ruling highlights a larger ideological battle over the future of the federal workforce.
• The Trump administration’s goal is to shrink, weaken, and privatize federal agencies, particularly those responsible for regulation and public oversight.
• Federal workers are increasingly vulnerable to political purges, as seen in the arbitrary firings of NOAA and VA employees.
• The privatization of government functions benefits billionaires like Musk, who have a vested interest in a weaker public sector.
Alsup described probationary employees as “the lifeblood of our government”, warning that losing them would harm the ability of agencies to fulfill their missions.
Judge Alsup’s ruling dealt a blow to the administration’s efforts to dismantle the civil service, but it did not fully stop the purge.
Thousands of federal workers remain in limbo, and many agencies continue to face workforce reductions. The coming weeks will determine whether the Trump administration and Musk’s DOGE continue their push to gut the federal government—or if public pressure and legal action can reverse course.
COMMENTS