A federal judge on Thursday ordered the Trump administration to reinstate thousands of fired federal employees across six agencies.

The preliminary injunction issued by US District Judge William Alsup requires the Trump administration to reinstate employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, the Department of Interior and the Department of Treasury. The judge said that he might extend the order to cover other federal agencies at a later time; and also prohibited the Office of Personnel Management from issuing any guidance about whether employees can be terminated.

Alsup, who was appointed by former President Bill Clinton, also ordered the immediate discovery and deposition of Office of Personnel Management (OPM) senior adviser Noah Peters, who is aligned with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Attorney Danielle Leonard, who represents unions and interest groups, asked Alsup to immediately reinstate thousands of probationary government employees who had been terminated allegedly at the direction of OPM Acting Director Charles Ezell: “There is a mountain of evidence before the court that OPM directed it. OPM’s actions were unlawful. The plaintiffs have standing, and there is an irreparable harm that is occurring every minute, and it is snowballing.” 

Alsup said in his injunction: “The words that I give you today should not be taken as some kind of wild and crazy judge in San Francisco has said that the administration cannot engage in a reduction in force. The reason that OPM wanted to put this ‘based on performance’ was, at least in my judgment, a gimmick to avoid their Reduction in Force Act because the law always allows you to fire somebody for performance.”

The judge also suggested the possible ‘need’ for an injunction ordering the reinstatement of the employees based on the government’s recent conduct: “You will not bring the people in here to be cross-examined. You’re afraid to do so, because, you know, cross examination would reveal the truth. This is the U.S. District Court. I tend to doubt that you’re telling me the truth.”

The judge also criticized the attorney representing the Justice Department for refusing to make OPM Acting Director Charles Ezell available for cross examination and for withdrawing his sworn declaration:  “The government, I believe, has tried to frustrate the judge’s ability to get at the truth of what happened here, and then set forth sham declarations. That’s not the way it works in the U.S. District Court … You withdrew his declaration rather than do that. Come on, that’s a sham. It upsets me. I want you to know that I’ve been practicing or serving in this court for over 50 years. And I know how that we get at the truth, and you’re not helping me get to add to the truth. You’re giving me press releases — sham documents.”

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