Attorney General Ellison wins preliminary injunction against Trump Administration for mass firings of federal probationary employees
April 1, 2025 (SAINT PAUL) — Today, Attorney General Keith Ellison secured a preliminary injunction (PI) in Maryland et al. v. USDA, a lawsuit filed by a coalition of 20 attorneys general against numerous federal agencies that challenges the unlawful mass firing of federal probationary employees.
The PI protects federal probationary employees who live or work in the plaintiff states and orders 20 federal agencies to reinstate unlawfully terminated probationary employees while the court case continues. The PI also requires those agencies to follow lawful procedures in conducting any future reductions in force.
"Donald Trump violated the law, causing harm to the state of Minnesota and its people when he attempted his chaotic firing spree targeting federal probationary employees,” said Attorney General Ellison. “I hope this injunction begins to mend the harms caused by the Trump Administration’s mass firings of probationary employees. Once again, in the strongest possible terms, I urge Donald Trump and his administration to act within the law. Otherwise, I will not hesitate to again take this administration to court to protect Minnesotans and defend the rule of law.”
On March 6, 2025, Attorney General Ellison joined the coalition, led by Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown, in suing numerous federal agencies for causing irreparable injuries to Minnesota and the other plaintiff states. The lawsuit, in the United States District Court for Maryland, sought immediate relief and a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) on March 14, 2025, for 18 federal agencies. The Court later extended that order by five days such that it was set to expire on April 1, which would have resulted in devastating impacts on Minnesota and the plaintiff states, as well as their probationary employees.
The PI extends the Court’s earlier order requiring the federal agencies to stop the unlawful mass firings and to give those employees their jobs back while the attorneys general litigate the case against the agencies. The PI ensures that for the remainder of the case, the following federal agencies are prohibited from continuing their unlawful conduct:
- Department of Agriculture
- Department of Commerce
- Department of Defense
- Department of Education
- Department of Energy
- Department of Health and Human Services
- Department of Homeland Security
- Department of Housing and Urban Development
- Department of Interior
- Department of Labor
- Department of Transportation
- Department of Treasury
- Department of Veterans Affairs
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
- Environmental Protection Agency
- Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
- General Services Administration
- Office of Personnel Management
- Small Business Administration
- United States Agency for International Development
Attorney General Ellison was joined by the attorneys general of Maryland, the District of Columbia, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawai‛i, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin.
