Alright, folks—buckle up, because this is shaping up to be yet another heavyweight clash between the executive branch and the judiciary, and the gloves are officially off.
Here’s the headline: The Justice Department has gone straight to the Supreme Court, asking it to step in and immediately block a federal judge’s order that would force the government to rehire over 16,000 probationary employees who were let go under President Trump’s federal workforce reduction plan. That’s right—16,000. We’re not talking about a rounding error here. This is a sweeping judicial mandate with massive implications.
The judge behind the order? U.S. District Judge William Alsup, a Clinton-era appointee. Earlier this month, he ruled in favor of several federal employee unions and advocacy groups who argued that these terminations were unjustified and unlawful. And in response, Alsup ordered those employees reinstated across a number of departments—Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Defense, Energy, Treasury, you name it.
Now, Acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris is saying, Hold up. In her filing to SCOTUS, she argues that Alsup’s order is not only a gross overreach of judicial power but a direct assault on the constitutional structure of the federal government. And folks, she’s not mincing words. "This is no way to run a government," she writes—a phrase that’s going to echo across newsrooms and congressional hearing rooms this week.
Her argument centers on process. According to Harris, if you’re a probationary federal worker and you think you’ve been wrongly terminated, there’s a system for that. It’s called the Merit Systems Protection Board or the Office of Special Counsel. You don’t just let third-party organizations—unions and nonprofits—waltz into federal court on your behalf. That, she says, “hijacks” the employment relationship and sets a dangerous precedent.
And then came the White House response—sharp, strategic, and straight to the point. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt made it crystal clear: this isn’t just a personnel matter, it’s a constitutional one.
“A single judge is attempting to unconstitutionally seize the power of hiring and firing from the Executive Branch,” she said. “If a federal district court judge would like executive powers, they can try and run for President themselves.”
Boom. That’s not just a rebuttal—that’s a declaration of war over separation of powers.
Now let’s zoom out for a second. This isn't happening in a vacuum. The Trump administration, guided by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has made no secret of its intention to trim the bloated federal bureaucracy.
Through voluntary retirements, terminations, and structural consolidation, the administration has been systematically pulling the reins on federal hiring. And every step of the way, they’ve been met with legal resistance—deportation holds, foreign aid freezes, and now, workforce mandates.