Government employees and their allies are declaring victory Thursday after a federal judge ordered the reinstatement of workers — including some at energy and environmental agencies — who were fired by the Trump administration.
U.S. District Judge William Alsup ordered agencies including the Interior, Energy and Agriculture departments to “immediately” offer jobs back to their “probationary” employees. Alsup, a San-Francisco based appointee of President Bill Clinton, said those workers were illegally fired by the Trump administration. The Defense, Treasury and Veterans Affairs departments were also affected by Alsup’s order.
The order represents a win — albeit potentially only a temporary one — for workers in the impacted agencies. The decision also marks the latest in a series of judicial setbacks to the Trump administration as it plows ahead with its plans to slash the size and scope of the federal government.
“This is a huge victory for the employees that have been fired because they all get their jobs back,” said Erik Molvar, executive director of the Western Watersheds Project, a plaintiff in the lawsuit challenging the Trump administration. “They will go back to work, they’ll start getting paychecks again, their desks will not be vacant.”
