A three-judge panel of the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, located in Virginia, granted President Donald Trump’s administration a stay regarding the firing of probationary government employees.
The vote was 2-1.
This means the administration can resume the firings.
The Court of Appeals wrote:
Having reviewed the record, the district court’s opinion, and the parties’ briefing, we agree with the Government that it has satisfied the factors for a stay under Nken v Holder, 556 U.S. 418, 426 (2009). The Government is likely to succeed in showing the district court lacked jurisdiction over Plaintiffs’ claims, and the Government is unlikely to recover the funds disbursed to reinstated probationary employees. Cf. Dep’t of Educ. v. California, No. 24A910, 2025 WL 1008354, at *1 (U.S. Apr. 4, 2025) (per curiam). The Supreme Court has stayed a similar preliminary injunction issued by the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. See OPM v. AFGE, No. 24A904, 2025 WL 1035208, at *1 (U.S. Apr. 8, 2025) (mem.). We therefore grant the Government’s motion for a stay of the preliminary injunction pending this appeal. The Clerk will set an expedited briefing schedule.
In other words, the judges do not think the attorney generals who brought the case lack the legal standing to make a move and that the appeals should go through an employment process, not the federal court system.
Washington, D.C., and 19 states sued the Trump administration, claiming the agencies lied to them about the firings being related to their work performance and did not give them a 60-day notice.
On April 1, U.S. District Judge James Bredar ordered the administration to stop firing the employees.
The administration appealed, asking for a stay of the preliminary injunction pending the appeal.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court granted Trump a similar stay in a case out of California regarding the firing of federal employees.
The United States District Court for the Northern District of California ruled the administration could not fire the workers.
The administration appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Officials asked SCOTUS for an emergency stay on the Northern District of California’s ruling pending the disposition of the appeal in the Ninth Circuit.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY