U.S. District Judge William Alsup ruled on Thursday that the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) does not have the authority to instruct federal agencies to terminate employees, including probationary employees with less than one year of service. His ruling prevents OPM from enforcing a memorandum that instructed agencies to canvass and terminate non-“mission-critical” probationary employees.
Although Musk has focused on removing fraud and abuse, analysts argue that deep program cuts will be necessary to make that happen. Democrats, unions, and federal employees have fought the effort fiercely, warning of devastating disruptions to government services. The administration already has faced setbacks, with some of the key personnel being rehired. However, Trump remains a firm believer in Musk’s vision of a lean federal workforce.
Despite the legal challenge, the layoffs have begun at several agencies. Hundreds of probationary employees at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which conducts climate research, received notice of their termination on Thursday, according to a source familiar with the situation.
At the Internal Revenue Service, employees in the Transformation and Strategy Office were told that their whole 60-person staff might be eliminated in the near future. Already, the office’s director, David Padrino, announced that he is quitting, effective next week. Meanwhile, at least two dozen teleworkers at OPM itself have been told that they must relocate to Washington, D.C., by March 7 if they wish to keep their jobs.
In his ruling, Alsup ordered OPM to cancel a Jan. 20 memo and Feb. 14 email directing agencies to begin the process of termination. While he stated he could not order the Department of Defence and other agencies to cease firing workers directly, he added mass firings would have draconian effects, affecting national parks, scientific research, and veterans’ services.
“Probationary employees are the lifeblood of our government. They come in at the bottom, and they work their way up. That’s how we refresh ourselves,” Alsup said. The plaintiffs in the case are the American Federation of Government Employees—the largest union of federal workers—four other unions, and nonprofit organisations that advocate for the interests of veterans and the environment.
The Trump administration has argued that its order merely requested agencies to review their workforce, not mandate terminations. “An order isn’t usually made in the form of a request,” Justice Department lawyer Kelsey Helland argued in court in making the case for the administration.
But Alsup was unconvinced, stating it was “unlikely that almost all federal agencies separately determined to decimate its workforce.” He ordered OPM to provide agencies, which include the Department of Defence and the National Park Service, with formal notice that its order of termination is null and void.
This ruling is a temporary one while the suit proceeds. But the broader campaign to reshape the federal workforce continues. A White House memorandum on Wednesday instructed agencies to submit plans by March 13 for a “significant reduction” in staff.
Despite numerous suits challenging the administration’s approach, unions have encountered legal roadblocks in stopping the job cuts. The coming weeks could determine the fate of thousands of federal employees—and the contours of the U.S. government itself.
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