March 17, 2025 — A pair of judges have ordered the U.S. government to rehire thousands of laid off workers, frustrating U.S. President Donald Trump’s efforts to quickly and drastically shrink the federal workforce.
The Trump administration has prioritized slashing the federal workforce, first offering employees financial incentives to join a deferred resignation plan and then implementing mass layoffs of probationary employees. More than 20,000 employees have been laid off to date.