Judges overturn Trump administration's mass firings of federal workers

As the fight to shrink the United States federal bureaucracy intensifies, two federal judges delivered a sharp blow to Donald Trump's administration, ordering the reinstatement of thousands of workers who had been abruptly fired in recent weeks (via Reuters).

Judges in Maryland and California ruled that the mass layoffs at 19 agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency and the United States Department of Defence, violated federal labour regulations.

These rulings have dealt a significant setback to the administration's controversial effort to cut the workforce, which has already seen the termination of at least 24,000 probationary employees. For now, it remains to be seen how the administration will respond.