Trump Freed to Fire Federal Workers as Court Pauses Hold (3)

Federal agencies can resume firing thousands of probationary employees after an appeals court paused a lower court’s order Wednesday.

The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit paused a district judge’s order directing federal agencies to rehire fired employees in “probationary” status that live and work in 19 states and Washington, D.C. The district court likely doesn’t have the jurisdiction to reverse the firings, appeals court judges Allison Jones Rushing, a Trump appointee, and Harvie Wilkinson, a Reagan appointee, said in their order.

The order is another significant boost for President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk‘s campaign to shrink the federal workforce. Thousands of federal employees reinstated by the district judge’s ruling are expected to lose their jobs a second time due to Wednesday’s order.

The plaintiffs asked the Fourth Circuit Wednesday night to bar the Trump administration from firing the affected employees again until the full court decides whether to rehear the case. That would prevent a “potential whipsaw effect” for those workers, the plaintiffs said.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday similarly halted a California judge’s order that required federal agencies to reinstate 16,000 fired workers in probationary status, meaning they were recently hired or promoted to new roles. The Fourth Circuit released its order in the middle of a hearing in that case, where attorneys were arguing over how the plaintiffs can move forward after the Supreme Court’s ruling.

Changing Orders

The Fourth Circuit on Wednesday paused a March 13 order from Judge James Bredar of the US District Court for the District of Maryland. That order temporarily blocked 18 agencies from firing probationary workers. The Trump administration said it began putting more than 25,000 employees on paid leave beginning in mid-March in response.

Bredar later narrowed that order, stating that agencies shouldn’t rehire employees that live or work outside of Washington, D.C., or one of the 19 states that challenged the workforce cuts in his court.

Wednesday’s order from the Fourth Circuit paused that ruling while the panel considers whether to reverse it. Judge DeAndrea Gist Benjamin, a Biden appointee, dissented. She said states can challenge the firings, adding that the terminations will cause them “real harm.”

The US Department of Justice and Maryland attorney general did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The case is Maryland v. USDA, 4th Cir., 25-1248, 4/9/25.