Court Sides with AG Nessel, Coalition on Trump Administration's Reduction in Force Policy

LANSING – Late last night, Judge James Bredar in the U.S. District Court of Maryland ordered the Trump administration to rehire the majority of the tens of thousands of federal workers recently laid off and issued a temporary restraining order against future terminations.  This comes in response to a suit Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and 19 other attorneys general filed claiming the administration’s reduction in force policy acted beyond the executive's authority and violated the Administrative Procedures Act. 

“Federal law provides a pathway for the President to execute a large-scale reduction in force, but this administration, once again, acted extrajudicially to carry out its wishes without regard for the law, impact on the federal government, or the states,” said Attorney General Nessel. “I am pleased that Judge Bredar acted swiftly to minimize the dangerous impact this could have had across the nation.” 

The temporary restraining order enjoins the majority of federal agencies from completing further firings and requires them to reinstate affected probationary employees. It excludes the National Archives and Records Administration, the Office of Personnel Management, and the Department of Defense. The restraining order will remain in place for 14 days while the Judge considers arguments for a preliminary injunction.  The order also requires that the restrained Defendants file a status report documenting the actions that they have taken to comply with this order by March 17, 2025.