Judge blocks Trump administration’s mass firings of federal workers

[NewsVine_Mariyam]

Suddenly leftards are sticklers for procedure?

Leftards are the kings of astroturf. Hollywood. Show trials. FBI raids with the media in tow. Show biz. Fake reality.

It's a very unbecoming look to blame other for your own ignorance.

 

[NewsVine_Mariyam]

If they are employees of the executive, then it is well within their authority. Congress cannot dictate to the executive whom to fire and when. It's not like you need congressional funds to fire someone in the government.

How Article II Aligns (or Clashes) with Federal Laws Governing the Termination of Federal Workers
Article II of the U.S. Constitution gives the President broad authority over the executive branch, but Congress has placed statutory limits on that power through federal employment laws. The result is a system where the President has influence over federal employment but cannot unilaterally fire career civil servants without following due process.

---

1. Presidential Authority (Article II) vs. Statutory Protections​

Article II Powers	Federal Statutory Limits
President appoints executive officers (Art. II, Sec. 2).	The Senate must confirm key appointments. Congress can impose restrictions on removal (Humphrey’s Executor v. U.S., 1935).
President executes laws and manages the executive branch (Art. II, Sec. 3).	The Civil Service Reform Act (CSRA) of 1978 protects career federal employees from arbitrary termination.
President can remove executive officials (but courts have ruled that this power is not absolute).	Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) requires just cause for termination and provides employees appeal rights.

---

2. Federal Laws That Govern Termination of Federal Employees​

A. Civil Service Reform Act (CSRA) of 1978​

• Protects career civil servants from arbitrary removal.
• Establishes the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) to hear appeals.
• Requires "just cause" for terminations, such as:
  • Misconduct
  • Poor performance (must be documented with a Performance Improvement Plan first)
  • Reductions in force (RIFs)

➡ How This Clashes with Article II:

• The President cannot simply fire career employees at will; federal agencies must follow CSRA procedures.
• Exception: Political appointees do not have these protections.

---

B. Due Process Clause (Fifth Amendment)​

• Federal employees cannot be terminated without due process (Cleveland Bd. of Educ. v. Loudermill, 1985).
• Requires:
  • Notice of termination
  • Opportunity to respond
  • Appeal rights (e.g., MSPB, EEOC, FLRA)

➡ How This Clashes with Article II:

• The President must follow due process laws, even though Article II grants authority over the executive branch.
• Courts have blocked terminations that violated due process (Greene v. McElroy, 1959).

---

C. Whistleblower Protection Act (WPA)​

• Federal employees cannot be fired for reporting:
  • Government waste
  • Corruption
  • Retaliation
• Office of Special Counsel (OSC) investigates whistleblower complaints.

➡ How This Clashes with Article II:

• The President cannot fire whistleblowers in retaliation, even if they are executive branch employees.
• Example: Courts reinstated whistleblowers who were wrongfully fired (Kaplan v. Conyers, 2013).

---

D. Other Termination Restrictions​

Law	Termination Limits
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (1964)	Protects federal employees from discriminatory termination (race, gender, religion, etc.).
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)	Federal employees cannot be fired due to a disability without reasonable accommodation.
Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)	Protects workers 40+ years old from age-based firings.

➡ How This Clashes with Article II:

• Even though the President oversees executive agencies, they must follow anti-discrimination laws in terminations.

---

3. Can the President Override These Laws?​

No—Not Without Congressional Action or a Court Ruling.

• The President cannot repeal or ignore federal employment laws.
• Congress would have to change the CSRA, whistleblower protections, or due process laws to allow broader firing powers.
• Courts have historically rejected attempts to bypass statutory protections.

Example:

• Trump’s Schedule F order (2020) tried to strip civil service protections by reclassifying employees.
• Biden rescinded it (2021), and Congress is considering a law to block future reinstatement.

---

Bottom Line​

The President has authority over the executive branch under Article II, but that power is limited by Congress and the courts.
Federal employees cannot be fired arbitrarily—they are protected by the CSRA, due process rights, and whistleblower laws.
Any attempt to bypass these protections (e.g., Schedule F, mass firings) would face legal challenges.

 

[NewsVine_Mariyam]

The SF judge with soon be overruled or maybe it will just brush up on Article II and then back off.

Roberts sent a shot across the lower judges bow yesterday.

They keep it up and....

That's a different case.

 

[NewsVine_Mariyam]

Which is of course complete bullshit.

No one requires a statute to fire an employee. Duh.

LOL, how do you make it through life with so little knowledge of how things work?

 

[NewsVine_Mariyam]

Nonsense, Head of State.... that's who the agencies report too, that's like saying the CEO cannot fire a mid level manager.

They have to follow procedure.

What they desire is not more important than the rights of the workers, CEO, President, whatever.

They can't just send everyone home or have some creep send an email demanding information on their activities under "additional" threat of job loss for not complying.

 

[TrumpMAGA88]

They have to follow procedure.

What they desire is not more important than the rights of the workers, CEO, President, whatever.

They can't just send everyone home or have some creep send an email demanding information on their activities under "additional" threat of job loss for not complying.

Show me here were which right prevents them from being fired by Head of State.

They have the right to appeal it, that isn't being violated.

Loading…

www.google.com

 

[NewsVine_Mariyam]

Show me here were which right prevents them from being fired by Head of State.

They have the right to appeal it, that isn't being violated.
[snipped]

I posted this already but it's no big deal to post it again.

The Civil Service Reform Act (CSRA) of 1978 protects career federal employees from ARBITRARY termination.

Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) requires just cause for termination and provides employees appeal rights.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How Article II Aligns (or Clashes) with Federal Laws Governing the Termination of Federal Workers
Article II of the U.S. Constitution gives the President broad authority over the executive branch, but Congress has placed statutory limits on that power through federal employment laws. The result is a system where the President has influence over federal employment but cannot unilaterally fire career civil servants without following due process.

---

1. Presidential Authority (Article II) vs. Statutory Protections​

Article II Powers	Federal Statutory Limits
President appoints executive officers (Art. II, Sec. 2).	The Senate must confirm key appointments. Congress can impose restrictions on removal (Humphrey’s Executor v. U.S., 1935).
President executes laws and manages the executive branch (Art. II, Sec. 3).	The Civil Service Reform Act (CSRA) of 1978 protects career federal employees from arbitrary termination.
President can remove executive officials (but courts have ruled that this power is not absolute).	Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) requires just cause for termination and provides employees appeal rights.

---

2. Federal Laws That Govern Termination of Federal Employees​

A. Civil Service Reform Act (CSRA) of 1978​

• Protects career civil servants from arbitrary removal.
• Establishes the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) to hear appeals.
• Requires "just cause"for terminations, such as:
  • Misconduct
  • Poor performance (must be documented with a Performance Improvement Plan first)
  • Reductions in force (RIFs)

➡ How This Clashes with Article II:

• The President cannot simply fire career employees at will; federal agencies must follow CSRA procedures.
• Exception: Political appointees do not have these protections.

---

B. Due Process Clause (Fifth Amendment)​

• Federal employees cannot be terminated without due process (Cleveland Bd. of Educ. v. Loudermill, 1985).
• Requires:
  • Notice of termination
  • Opportunity to respond
  • Appeal rights (e.g., MSPB, EEOC, FLRA)

➡ How This Clashes with Article II:

• The President must follow due process laws, even though Article II grants authority over the executive branch.
• Courts have blocked terminations that violated due process (Greene v. McElroy, 1959).

---

C. Whistleblower Protection Act (WPA)​

• Federal employees cannot be fired for reporting:
  • Government waste
  • Corruption
  • Retaliation
• Office of Special Counsel (OSC) investigates whistleblower complaints.

➡ How This Clashes with Article II:

• The President cannot fire whistleblowers in retaliation, even if they are executive branch employees.
• Example: Courts reinstated whistleblowers who were wrongfully fired (Kaplan v. Conyers, 2013).

---

D. Other Termination Restrictions​

Law	Termination Limits
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (1964)	Protects federal employees from discriminatory termination (race, gender, religion, etc.).
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)	Federal employees cannot be fired due to a disability without reasonable accommodation.
Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)	Protects workers 40+ years old from age-based firings.

➡ How This Clashes with Article II:

• Even though the President oversees executive agencies, they must follow anti-discrimination laws in terminations.

---

3. Can the President Override These Laws?​

No—Not Without Congressional Action or a Court Ruling.

• The President cannot repeal or ignore federal employment laws.
• Congress would have to change the CSRA, whistleblower protections, or due process laws to allow broader firing powers.
• Courts have historically rejected attempts to bypass statutory protections.

Example:

• Trump’s Schedule F order (2020) tried to strip civil service protections by reclassifying employees.
• Biden rescinded it (2021), and Congress is considering a law to block future reinstatement.

---

Bottom Line​

The President has authority over the executive branch under Article II, but that power is limited by Congress and the courts.
Federal employees cannot be fired arbitrarily—they are protected by the CSRA, due process rights, and whistleblower laws.
Any attempt to bypass these protections (e.g., Schedule F, mass firings) would face legal challenges.

 

[Care4all]

Nonsense, Head of State.... that's who the agencies report too, that's like saying the CEO cannot fire a mid level manager.

Nope. All the ruling means is Trump has to order each individual agency head that he put in place, to fire their department employees that Trump/Muskrat want fired. It's really not a problem for Trump to do that....his agency heads are certain to comply.

 

[EvilEyeFleegle]

The Judge says hire them back? I wonder how that would work?

Judge appears likely to grant request to reinstate thousands of fired probationary workers

“Move fast, fine. Break things? If that involves breaking the law, then that becomes problematic,” U.S. District Judge James Bredar said at the hearing.

www.nbcnews.com

A federal judge in Maryland suggested Wednesday that he might direct that thousands of fired federal workers get their jobs back, at least temporarily, after hearing arguments that their layoffs were unlawful.

"This case isn't about whether or not the government can terminate people. It’s about if they decide to terminate people, how they must do it," U.S. District Judge James Bredar said at the hearing on the abrupt firings of thousands of probationary employees. The government has let go roughly 200,000 probationary employees — workers who are either recent hires or had taken new positions.


“Move fast and break things,” Bredar, referring to a seminal quote from Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg that has been used to describe Elon Musk's efforts to shrink the size of the federal workforce. “Move fast, fine. Break things? If that involves breaking the law, then that becomes problematic,” the judge said.

A coalition of states with Democratic attorneys general urged Bredar to sign a temporary restraining order that would restore the status quo from before the firings, which they maintain were illegal — meaning the fired workers would get their jobs back. The states argue the move is necessary because the government ignored proper procedure for the mass termination of federal employees, known as a “reduction in force.”

Under a RIF, "agencies are required to provide advance notice to affected employees and, in circumstances relevant here, to states and local governments. An employee 'may not be released' as part of a RIF 'unless' they receive 60 days’ 'written notice' that provides information on reemployment and career transition assistance," among other requirements, the states contended in a court filing.