HousingWireHousingWire
A federal judge in Maryland on Tuesday ordered the Trump administration to reinstate probationary federal employees across 19 states who’ve been dismissed since the president’s inauguration on Jan. 20, according to court documents obtained by HousingWire.
Additionally, after publicly speculating in the Oval Office to reporters about a possible end to billionaire Elon Musk’s time as a special government employee, a new report states that the president informed his inner circle that Musk will soon “step back” from his role to focus on running his companies.
Court case
The Maryland ruling comes amid a wide-ranging lawsuit from 19 states and the District of Columbia tied to a host of federal agencies impacted by layoffs since the start of the new administration.
These agencies include the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). HUD Secretary Scott Turner and CFPB acting director Russell Vought are named in the case as defendants in their official capacities.
“At this preliminary stage, the court finds that the recent actions of the defendant government agencies (and the officials leading them) […] probably broke the laws that regulate en masse terminations of government employees, and this to the continuing and irreparable harm of the plaintiff states,” Judge James Bredar wrote on Tuesday.
“The appropriate remedy now, until final judgment is entered, is entry of a preliminary injunction restoring the employment of those federal probationary workers whose sudden layoffs without requisite notice likely have harmed, are harming, and will continue to harm the plaintiff states if not immediately stopped.”
The judge went on to say that, due to concerns of judicial overreach, the injunction he has ordered is restricted only to the states that brought this particular action, rather than nationally.
Bredar cited several states “identifying an increase — often a sharp one — in unemployment benefits applications from former federal workers.” He said these add burdens to the states where the filings took place, as well as other “rapid response” efforts the states have had to implement due to the abrupt firings.
The government is appealing the decision, according to reporting by The Associated Press.
Trump on Musk
After speaking publicly about a potential end to Musk’s time with the White House, a report from Politico claims that Trump has told his advisers that Musk’s time leading the U.S. DOGE Service‘s government cost-cutting effort will be scaled back sooner rather than later.
“I think he’s been amazing, but I also think he’s got a big company to run,” Trump said Monday in the Oval Office as he prepared to sign an executive order, according to USA Today. “And at some point, he’s going to be going back. He wants to.”
The Politico report detailed that “both men have decided in recent days that it will soon be time for Musk to return to his businesses and take on a supporting role, according to three Trump insiders who were granted anonymity to describe the evolving relationship.”
The outlet also mentioned that some officials inside the administration “have become frustrated with [Musk’s] unpredictability and increasingly view the billionaire as a political liability.” These feelings likely escalated after a Musk-backed candidate for the Wisconsin Supreme Court was roundly defeated in a special election on Tuesday night. Musk reportedly spent $20 million backing the conservative candidate who lost.
One official said that Musk is likely to retain an advisory role and will still be a presence around the White House campus. Musk’s status as a special government employee already had a 130-day time limit that exempts him from some rules governing ethics and conflicts of interest. That 130-day period is set to end in late May or early June, Politico reported.
Musk’s cost-cutting initiatives have had major ramifications on housing programs under the Trump administration. DOGE routinely posts “receipts” online of cancelled programs it claims are saving money for taxpayers.
These have included housing program and grant cancellations, lease terminations and a previously reported ambition to dismiss up to half of HUD’s staff. Administration officials have largely denied the scale of these reports.
Musk’s moves have sparked backlash from government employees, including a bizarre instance of an AI-doctored video that crudely depicted Trump and Musk together and was shown on TVs in HUD’s offices.
Congressional Democrats also attempted to hand deliver a letter to Turner, demanding that cuts imposed on HUD be halted. And some cities are even halting applications for assistance programs backed by HUD amid uncertainty created by the budget cuts.
