Trump Administration Appeals Supreme Court To Overturn Federal Employee Rehiring Order

<p>The Trump administration urged the Supreme Court on Monday to overturn a ruling that mandates the rehiring of thousands of federal employees who were dismissed in a mass layoff in part of an effort to downsize the federal government.</p>
<p>The emergency appeal says that the judiciary can&rsquo;t compel the executive branch to reinstate around 16,000 probationary employees. A California-based judge ruled that the orders didn&rsquo;t follow federal law, and ordered reinstatement offers be issued while the lawsuit progresses.</p>
<p>The appeal also urged the conservative-leaning Supreme Court to curb the increasing number of federal judges who have temporarily hindered President Donald Trump&rsquo;s broad policy initiatives. &ldquo;Only this Court can end the interbranch power grab,&rdquo; the appeal stated, Associated Press reported.</p>
<p>With a Republican-controlled Congress largely backing Trump or remaining silent, federal courts have become a primary battleground for challenges to his policies. Judges have ruled against his administration over three dozen times, citing federal law violations on issues ranging from birthright citizenship changes to government spending and transgender rights.</p>
<p>Trump&rsquo;s unprecedented wave of executive orders appears set for multiple Supreme Court battles, particularly after he reshaped the bench with three appointees in his first term. However, in the two cases that have reached the high court so far, the justices have only taken limited action.</p>
<p>The latest appeal concerns one of two rulings issued on the same day, both of which identified legal flaws in how the administration handled the dismissal of probationary federal employees.</p>
<h2>U.S. District Judge Directs Six Agencies To Hire</h2>
<p>In San Francisco, U.S. District Judge William Alsup ruled that the cancellations were improperly ordered by the Office of Personnel Management and its acting director. He directed six agencies to rehire: the Departments of Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Defense, Energy, the Interior, and the Treasury.</p>
<p>The lawsuit was brought by a coalition of labour unions and nonprofit groups that claimed the workforce reduction would negatively impact them. &nbsp;</p>
<p>Judge Alsup, appointed by Democratic President Bill Clinton, criticised the government’s approach, accusing it of attempting to bypass established laws and regulations on workforce downsizing. While acknowledging that the government has the authority to reduce its workforce, he took issue with its method&mdash;targeting probationary employees, who have fewer legal protections. &nbsp;</p>
<p>Alsup expressed shock that workers were dismissed for alleged poor performance, even though they had received outstanding evaluations just months earlier. &nbsp;</p>
<p>However, the federal government argued that the judge overstepped his authority by ordering the reinstatement of the employees. In its appeal, the Justice Department contended that the plaintiffs lacked legal standing to sue and failed to demonstrate that the Office of Personnel Management had unlawfully directed the dismissals.</p>
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