Federal judge pauses Trump probationary worker layoffs in some states, reversing nationwide ruling

A Maryland judge ordered the Trump administration to reinstate thousands of probationary employees slashed from the federal workforce, stopping short of a nationwide injunction previously used against the White House.

Maryland U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar ruled the workers must be reinstated by 2 p.m. on April 8, but only in the 20 specific jurisdictions that sued — contrary to plaintiffs’ requests that fired workers nationwide be reinstated. His ruling marked a reversal from a nationwide temporary restraining order he handed down in a sweeping ruling in March that reinstated at least 24,000 probationary employees across the country.