Judge orders 6 agencies to rehire fired federal probationary workers after
CBSMAR 11
Judge Orders Reinstatement of Thousands of Fired Federal Workers
Above: A person walks into the Department of Veterans Affairs' headquarters March 06, 2025 in Washington, DC. Image copyright: Chip Somodevilla/Staff/Getty Images News via Getty Images
The Spin
Republican narrative
The mass firings were a necessary step to streamline government operations and reduce bureaucratic bloat. The administration has the constitutional authority to manage federal workforce size, and this Clinton-appointed judge doesn't have the right to stop individual agencies from making their own decisions about terminations.
Democratic narrative
The terminations were an illegal attempt to circumvent proper workforce reduction procedures by targeting probationary employees who had limited appeal rights. The administration's claim of performance-based dismissals was a deceptive tactic to avoid following required legal processes for reducing the federal workforce.