Joining Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel in this coalition are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin.
Lansing, Michigan – U.S. District Court Judge James Bredar has ruled in favor of reinstating most of the federal employees who were laid off in what appears to be a decisive legal challenge against the Trump administration’s recent federal workforce reduction strategy. This ruling came as a response to a lawsuit filed by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel along with a coalition of 19 other state attorneys general, arguing that the administration’s actions exceeded presidential authority and breached the Administrative Procedures Act.
The controversy started when the Trump administration announced a notable cut in the federal workforce, which resulted in the dismissal of tens of thousands of federal workers in different agencies. State officials responded with legal action, alleging that the method utilized to implement the layoffs was not just sudden but also illegal.
Judge Bredar’s ruling calls for the rehiring of most of the impacted workers, especially those still on probationary terms, and orders a temporary stop on further dismissals. This obligation does not apply, however, to several important agencies including the Department of Defense, the Office of Personnel Management, and the National Archives and Records Administration.
Emphasizing the potential adverse effects the unrestricted reduction could have had on national and state-level government, Attorney General Nessel expressed her approval of the court’s quick response.
“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.”
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The temporary restraining order is set to last for 14 days, during which time Judge Bredar will consider further arguments for a preliminary injunction that could extend the order’s duration. The impacted government agencies must provide a status report by March 17, 2025, outlining their actions in line with the court’s mandate as part of the judicial monitoring.
This legal intervention emphasizes the continuous disagreements over personnel management and the legal execution of administrative policies between state authorities and the federal government. Reflecting the complex balance between presidential power and the regulatory systems controlling federal employment practices, the result of this case could set a major precedent for how such administrative acts are examined and challenged in the legal arena.