Firing federal employees was swift. Unwinding the terminations is proving complicated

People demonstrate during a protest against federal employee layoffs at Yosemite National Park, California on March 1, 2025. Many workers at the U.S. Department of Interior and other agencies are being reinstated following court orders.

Two federal judges have ordered the Trump administration to reinstate thousands of probationary employees it illegally fired. Agencies report they are doing so but placing most of them on paid leave.

(Image credit: Laure Andrillon)