A federal judge has ordered six U.S. government agencies to reinstate thousands of probationary workers who were laid off by the Trump administration last month. 

The Details: William Alsup, a federal judge in San Francisco, ordered the Departments of Agriculture, Defense, Energy, Interior, Treasury, and Veterans Affairs to re-hire employees terminated around Feb. 13 or 14. Court documents show the Trump administration justified the layoffs on the basis of “poor performance,” a claim the judge described as untrue.

Key Quotes: Alsup said the firings were “a sham in order to avoid statutory requirements” and that they “should not have been done in our country.” In response to the ruling, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said, “The Trump Administration will immediately fight back against this absurd and unconstitutional order.”

How the Media Covered It: The BBC (Center bias) cited both Alsup’s ruling and Danielle Leonard, an attorney representing a coalition of government employee unions, who said the layoffs targeted probationary employees because they didn’t have the right to appeal. AP News (Lean Left bias) quoted one of the plaintiffs, the executive director of Western Watersheds Project Erik Molvar, saying the layoffs “were not just an attack on government agencies and their ability to function, they were also a direct assault on public lands, wildlife, and the rule of law.” Breitbart (Right bias) wrote that this “judicial setback for the administration” comes after a “string of legal defeats that nevertheless seem not to have slowed the pace of change.”

Revised by the AllSides staff (of humans) after a first draft from our custom AI. Learn more. Support our mission.