The Trump administration has lost its attempt to halt a court order requiring it to bring back probationary employees at agencies like the Interior and Energy departments.
In a 2-1 decision issued Monday, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rebuffed the administration’s argument that an emergency stay of the order from a federal judge in California would preserve the status quo.
“It would do just the opposite,” said Senior Judge Barry Silverman, a Clinton appointee, and Judge Ana de Alba, a Biden pick, for the majority. “It would disrupt the status quo and turn it on its head.”
Monday’s decision from the 9th Circuit comes just days after Senior Judge William Alsup, a Clinton appointee to the U.S. District Court for the District of Northern California, rebuked the Trump administration for removing probationary employees — generally those who have served in their roles for less than one to two years — as part of its effort to shrink the federal government. Thousands of workers at agencies like Interior and DOE have been affected.
