US judge says she can't give jobs back to agency watchdogs fired by Trump [View all]
Source: Reuters
March 27, 2025 6:03 PM EDT Updated 11 hours ago
March 27 (Reuters) - A federal judge on Thursday said President Donald Trump's firing of eight independent agency watchdogs was likely illegal but suggested that requiring them to be reinstated would be futile. At the end of a two-hour hearing in Washington, D.C., U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes said it "violated decency," and possibly federal law, for Trump to fire the inspectors general without warning in January.
“Whether you’re right or wrong on the law, thank you for standing up and saying this was unacceptable,” she said, addressing the plaintiffs. “Thank you for the job you did for the government, thank you for giving up far more lucrative jobs in the private sector, thank you for missing your kids’ soccer games.”
But Reyes said that even if a federal law requiring the president to notify Congress 30 days in advance before firing inspectors general is valid, requiring their reinstatement would have little impact and could cause disruption because Trump could just remove them again. "I do not see how I can reinstate the IGs even if I find that the statute is constitutional," said Reyes, an appointee of Democratic former President Joe Biden. “They’re going to go back and be put on administrative leave immediately."
Seth Waxman, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said it was possible they would not be placed on leave and could continue doing their jobs. He noted that Trump has not named replacements for the fired officials and said it was crucial for Reyes to hold Trump accountable for violating federal law. “It’s very, very important for the court to issue an appropriately strong remedy, not just like, ‘yeah, yeah, yeah, too bad, [it was] unlawful but you get your backpay,’” said Waxman, who was U.S. solicitor general during the Clinton administration.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/us-judge-says-she-cant-give-jobs-back-agency-watchdogs-fired-by-trump-2025-03-27/
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