White House slams judge for ordering Trump admin to rehire thousands of federal workers: ‘Absurd and unconstitutional’ 

The White House slammed a federal judge’s ruling on Thursday as “absurd and unconstitutional” after he ordered the Trump administration to reinstate thousands of federal employees who were fired last month. 

“A single judge is attempting to unconstitutionally seize the power of hiring and firing from the Executive Branch,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement in response to US District Judge William Alsup’s ruling. 

“The President has the authority to exercise the power of the entire executive branch – singular district court judges cannot abuse the power of the entire judiciary to thwart the President’s agenda,” Leavitt added. “If a federal district court judge would like executive powers, they can try and run for President themselves.”

Alsup, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton, ordered the departments of Veterans Affairs, Defense, Energy, Interior, Agriculture and Treasury to “immediately” offer all probationary employees terminated on or about Feb. 13 reinstatement. 

The San Francisco-based judge found that acting Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Director Charles Ezell ordered the mass firings in violation of federal laws that dictate so-called “Reduction in Force” procedures. 

“The words that I give you today should not be taken that some wild-and-crazy judge in San Francisco said that an administration cannot engage in a reduction in force,” Alsup said, according to Politico. “It can be done, if it’s done in accordance with the law.”

Justice Department lawyers had argued that the agencies themselves made the firing decisions in an effort to comply with the Trump administration’s goal of shrinking the size of government. 

Alsup’s ruling came in response to a lawsuit brought by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and other labor unions challenging OPM’s role in the terminations, which affected thousands of federal probationary workers who had been on the job for less than a year. 

AFSCME President Lee Saunders hailed the ruling as a “big win for all workers.”

“Public service workers are the backbone of our communities in every way. Today, we are proud to celebrate the court’s decision which orders that fired federal employees must be reinstated and reinforces they cannot be fired without reason,” Saunders said in a statement.

“This is a big win for all workers, especially AFSCME members of the United Nurses Associations of California and District Council 20, who will be able to continue their essential work at the Department of Agriculture, Veterans Affairs Department, and other agencies.”

The White House vowed to appeal Alsup’s ruling. 

“The Trump Administration will immediately fight back against this absurd and unconstitutional order,” Leavitt said.