Court Rejects Trump Admin’s Bid to Block Reinstatement of Thousands of Employees

A majority of an appeals court panel says blocking a lower court’s order would ‘disrupt the status quo and turn it on its head.’

Recently laid off federal workers walk through the Dirksen Senate Office Building after meeting with staff members for Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) in Washington on Feb. 25, 2025. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

A federal appeals court on March 17 denied an attempt from President Donald Trump’s administration to block the reinstatement of thousands of newer federal government employees who had recently been fired.

A majority of a U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit panel said that blocking a lower court’s order would “disrupt the status quo and turn it on its head.”