A government agency chair, Cathy Harris, just made a significant move for nearly 6,000 federal workers. She managed to secure their jobs for at least a month and a half, following a ruling that her own firing was illegal by a federal judge.
On Wednesday, Harris deemed the firings of about 5,600 probationary employees at the Department of Agriculture (USDA) as potentially violating federal procedures. This ruling puts a 45-day pause on those firings while the Merit Systems Protection Board, which she leads, reviews the situation.
While this isn’t a final win for the employees, it could lead to a permanent solution if the Board finds the terminations were based on weak grounds, particularly claims of poor performance that may not hold up.
Those affected will stay in their roles for now. Harris’s ruling came just a day after a court lifted an injunction that had prevented her from acting. President Trump attempted to dismiss her when he took office, but she fought back in court—resulting in a judge declaring the firing illegal.
Harris stated in her ruling, “There are reasonable grounds to believe that the agency terminated the aforementioned probationary employees, in violation of [US Code],” which speaks to the seriousness of the matter.
The board’s decision could impact many more workers, depending on how many were let go under similar circumstances. However, the effort to shrink the federal workforce continues under the Trump administration, despite this setback for DOGE, the initiative leading the cuts.
Meanwhile, U.S. special counsel Hampton Dellinger is also fighting back to keep his job, as he has been targeted for termination. Dellinger has encouraged agencies to reverse these mass firings, calling many of them illegal.
In his call to action, he stated, “I urge all federal agencies to voluntarily and immediately rescind any unlawful terminations of probationary employees. My agency will continue to investigate and take appropriate action against improper terminations.”
Harris’s recent ruling is a crucial development in what could be an ongoing battle over job security for federal workers. The next steps from the Merit Systems Protection Board will likely influence the outcomes for many more employees involved in these controversial firings.
